Washington, D.C. (09/03/2023) – The Washington Spirit lost, 0-2, to the Chicago Red Stars after conceding two second half goals. With only four games remaining in the 2023 NWSL regular season, the Spirit will look to get back on track and remain in playoff contention.
With starts in today’s match, defender Tara McKeown appeared in her 50th career NWSL regular season match and defender Annaïg Butel made her first career NWSL start (all competitions).
In the 4th minute, the Spirit registered the first shot of the match when forward Ouleymata Sarr delivered a beautiful through ball to Trinity Rodman, but it was saved by Red Stars and U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) star Alyssa Naeher. Sarr followed with a laser three minutes later that was also denied by Naeher.
The combination of Sarr and Rodman continued as the Spirit knocked on the Red Stars’ door throughout the first third of action. In the 15th, Sarr placed a one-touch feed to the center of the box and Rodman rocketed the ball just high of the crossbar. Through 25 minutes, the Spirit logged six shots – two of which were on target – while only allowing a single Red Stars shot.
Despite recording the most touches in the opponent’s box (25) in a first half since 2016, the Spirit and Red Stars finished the half in a 0-0 draw. This is the third consecutive and sixth overall scoreless first half the Spirit has played in this season.
With its first shot on goal, the Red Stars scored, erasing the tie less than three minutes into the second half. Casey Krueger looped in a cross that found Bianca St-Georges’ head at the perfect moment. The Spirit has not won a regular season match since June 18th at Kansas City when conceding the opening goal.
The Spirit attack did not relent. By the 54th minute, the Spirit surpassed its season averages for both shots (12.3) and crosses (16.4). Alas, the effort did not matter as the Red Stars added to their lead in the 61st minute, when Penelope Hocking found Yuki Nagasato for the goal.
The Spirit finished the match with 17 more shots than the Red Stars, and the Red Stars’ two goals came on the team’s only two shots on target. Alyssa Naeher was phenomenal, stopping all eight shots on target. Meanwhile, Aubrey Kingsbury’s 81-match (all competitions) streak of registering a save came to an end. This marked only the third match the Spirit failed to score in the 2023 regular season.
Spirit fans represented at Audi Field this evening. A total of 10,035 fans attended the match, the sixth Spirit home crowd over 10,000 for the club this year, and the tenth in club history. The previous best in one season was two crowds over 10,000.
Next up, the Washington Spirit gets a much-deserved break, returning to action on September 16th at 7:30 p.m. EDT when the side visits NJ/NY Gotham FC.
Orlando Pride
