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Alejandra Martin, Ian Decker
Washingtonspirit.com
Boyds, Md. (9/26/20) – The Washington Spirit finished their third game of the Fall Series in a 1-1 draw against the Chicago Red Stars at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill. A late moment of brilliance from forward Crystal Thomas saw the Spirit battle back during their first away match of the 2020 calendar year.
FULLTIME | The Spirit makes a comeback in game 3 of the #NWSLFallSeries 🙌#CHIvWAS pic.twitter.com/A06o0xewto
— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) September 26, 2020
Recently, games between the Spirit and the Red Stars have been thrillers. With red card drama and late goal heroics punctuating recent fixtures, the two teams seem to bring out the best in each other.
In the opening moments of the match, Spirit forward Ashley Sanchez was fouled just outside the 18, setting up a free-kick from a dangerous area. Sanchez blasted her shot into the wall and couldn’t play a pass back into the box when the ball fell to her off the rebound.
Hunting for a goal 👀#CHIvWAS pic.twitter.com/0RPxVD0ZAA
— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) September 26, 2020
The first half saw Meggie Dougherty Howard exit in the 38th minute due to issues relating to migraines. Dougherty Howard was replaced by Jenna Hellstrom.
When the Spirit did look threatened in the first half, centerback Paige Nielsen was at the heart of it. Nielsen again showed her defensive acumen by regaining possession a team-high 11 times and moving the ball efficiently, completing 82% of her passes.
At the start of the second half, substitute Crystal Thomas displayed her usual ball-hawking abilities when she picked off an errant pass and drove goalwards, earning the Spirit a corner following a rising shot deflected by Alyssa Naeher.
With the pace of play picking up in the second half, it was Watt who almost broke the deadlock. In the 58’, she received a perfectly weighted pass from Luebbert and took a touch past a charging Aubrey Bledsoe. The touch, however, took Watt too far wide and she had to cut back, by which time the Spirit had gotten numbers behind the ball. With the Spirit defense back in tact, Watt fired a shot over the net.
Inside of the final 20 minutes, Chicago took the lead. Luebbert drove down the left wing and played a pass straight across the face of goal, finding McCaskill who finished the move from point-blank range.
In the 88’, Red Stars right back Camryn Biegalski played a poor pass in between the Chicago center-backs. Thomas, the quickest to react, stole the ball, beat Naeher on the dribble and neatly tucked the ball into the right-hand corner, past a diving Tierna Davidson. Thomas has now either scored or assisted in the 88’ or later in each of the last two games.
.@CThomas_Score indeed 😉
The @WashSpirit forward pounces on a mistake to equalize!
1-1 | #CHIvWAS
Tune in now on @CBS and @Twitch.#NWSLFallSeries | #VerizonCommunityShield pic.twitter.com/yzs5JEdctk
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 26, 2020
The Washington Spirit will play their final match of the Fall Series against Sky Blue FC at MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field on Saturday, October 3 at 12:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on Twitch.
Match: Chicago Red Stars vs Washington Spirit
Date: September 26, 2020
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium
Kickoff: 1 p.m. ET
Weather: Cloudy, high-70s
Scoring Summary:
| Goals | 1 | 2 | F |
| Chicago | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Washington | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Lineups:
CHI (4-3-3): 1-Alyssa Naeher; 16-Camryn Biegalski; 14-Zoe Morse 68’ 26-Tierna Davidson); 11-Sarah Gorden; 32-Zoey Goralski (45’ 29-Bianca St. Georges); 24-Danielle Colaprico;13-Morgan Gautrat; 10-Vanessa DiBernardo (c); 9-Savannah McCaskill (89’ 27-Dani Rhodes); 2-Kealia Ohai; 19-Sarah Luebbert (83’ 34-Aerial Chavarin)
Unused Substitutes: 6-Casey Short; 30-Hannah Davidson; 31-Kelsey Daugherty
WAS (4-3-3): 1-Aubrey Bledsoe (c); 19-Dorian Bailey; 14-Paige Nielsen; 3-Sam Staab; 4-Natalie Jacobs (75’ 5-Brooke Hendrix); 2-Ashley Sanchez; 8-Meggie Dougherty-Howard (37’ 22-Jenna Hellstrom); 13-Bayley Feist; 26-Meghan McCool (45’ 31-Crystal Thomas); 6-Katie McClure (82’ 18-Jessie Scarpa); 17-Kumi Yokoyama (74’ 16-Averie Collins)
Unused Substitutes: 25-Devon Kerr; 33-Ashley Hatch
Stats Summary: CHI / WAS
Shots: 8 / 16
Shots on Target: 2 / 4
Saves: 3 / 1
Blocked Shots: 2 / 7
Fouls: 8 / 19
Offside: 1 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
WAS – Katie McClure 30’ – Yellow Card
WAS – Jenna Hellstrom 62‘ – Yellow Card
Officials:
Referee: Tori Penso
Assistant Referee 1: Jeffrey Swartzel
Assistant Referee 2: Art Arustamyan
Fourth Official: Erin Patterson
