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Piscataway, Nj. (April 26, 2015) – The Washington Spirit (2-1-0, 6 points) notched a convincing 3-1 road win over Sky Blue FC (1-1-1, 4 points) tonight at Yurcak Field. Crystal Dunn’s two first half goals paired with Nairn’s second half strike lifted the Spirit over Sky Blue’s single goal from Katy Freels.
The Spirit took an early lead as Francisca Ordega got on an errant ball about 20 yards from goal and slipped the ball to Crystal Dunn who rifled her shot past Sky Blue keeper Brittany Cameron.
Spirit goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris came up big in the 32nd minute as Katy Freels’ initial shot careened off the crossbar and directly to Maya Hayes to sent the ball back toward the Spirit goal. Harris who had hit the ground trying to save Freels’ effort recovered quickly to deny Hayes from point blank range.
Just before the end of the first half, Dunn extended the Spirit’s lead as she found herself in a 1v1 situation with Cameron. Angela Salem broke up play and Dunn got on the end of the ball, streaked into the box and blasted the ball into the back of the net.
The Spirit stretched their lead in the 48th minute as Ordega took the ball to the end line before sending in a low driven cross into the box. Christine Nairn barrelled in and slammed the ball beyond Cameron to bring the Spirit’s lead to 3-0.
Sky Blue got one back in the 62nd minute as Nadia Nadim took the ball nearly out of bounds before sending in a well placed cross in the box, which Freels redirected past Harris to bring the scoreline to 3-1.
Neither side was able to add any more goals to the tally in the remaining thirty minutes and the game ended 3-1 in favor of the Spirit.
Head coach Mark Parsons had plenty of praise for his attacking players who were a constant threat all night, but he put particular emphasis on the team’s ability to contain Sky Blue’s two primary scoring threats: Nadim and Freels.
“It was a strong team performance starting with a good defensive performance, said Parsons. “It is now two good defensive performances in a row. That wasn’t something we were able to do last year.”
Next week the Spirit continue their road trip as they head to the Pacific Northwest to face Seattle Reign FC on Saturday May 2nd at 10 PM.
Washington Spirit season tickets are available now (10 home matches), with packages starting as low as $170. Check out all of the phenomenal NWSL soccer at the Maryland SoccerPlex by calling 301-337-8579.
Washington Spirit Lineup
Ashlyn Harris; Katherine Reynolds, Megan Oyster, Estelle Johnson, Alex Singer; Tori Huster, Angela Salem (Joanna Lohman 58′), Christine Nairn; Crystal Dunn (Amanda Da Costa 82′), Francisca Ordega, Estefania Banini (Laura del Rio 68′)
Subs not used: Caprice Dydasco, Whitney Church, Tiffany Weimer, Kelsey Wys
Sky Blue FC Lineup
Brittany Cameron; Christie Rampone, Kristin Grubka (Kim DeCesare 76′), Lindsi Cutshall, Cami Levin (Hayley Haagsma 67′), Kelley O’Hara, Katy Freels, Shawna Gordon (Meg Morris 60′), Sarah Killion, Maya Hayes, Nadia Nadim
Subs not used: Aubrey Bledsoe, Nikki Stanton, Lo’eau LaBonta, Theresa Diederich
GOALS 1 2 F
Sky Blue FC 0 1 1
Washington Spirit 2 1 3
SCORING SUMMARY
Goal Time Team Goal Scorer Assist
1 6 Washington Crystal Dunn Francisca Ordega
2 40 Washington Crystal Dunn
3 48 Washington Christine Nairn Francisca Ordega
4 62 Sky Blue Katy Freels Nadia Nadim
CAUTIONS AND EJECTIONS
Time Team ## Player Card Reason
38 Washington 23 Tori Huster Yellow Reckless Foul
74 Sky Blue FC 14 Sarah Killion Yellow Reckless Foul
