Recap: Record-Breaking Crowd Gives Spirit a Final Push to Draw San Diego, 1-1
Washington Spirit | June 16, 2024
Washington, D.C. (06/15/2024) – Audi Field was jam-packed tonight with 19,897 fans in attendance, breaking the club attendance record. The historic crowd witnessed the Spirit draw San Diego Wave FC, 1-1, in a match that can be best described as hard-fought. The Spirit has managed to score in 12 out of its 13 matches, tying the Kansas City Current for the most in the NWSL.
The Spirit started the match missing two crucial players, captain Andi Sullivan and rookie Kate Wiesner. The omissions led to the inclusion of Courtney Brown and Paige Metayer in the Starting XI. Wiesner scored her first career NWSL goal last week in Utah.
The Saturday night match started out evenly matched. A shot from Croix Bethune was denied by the left post early in the ninth minute. Following the strike on the woodwork, momentum swung in favor of the Wave, finding success using the wings to get past the Spirit’s high defense. A diving save from Aubrey Kingsbury in the 18th minute briefly shut down the Wave’s attack, until two minutes later when Wave forward Jaedyn Shaw converted a cross to put the Wave ahead.
Minutes later, Gabby Carle cleared a ball, saving a potential San Diego breakaway, but was banged up on the play. She later left the match, with Ashley Hatch coming on in her place in the 45th minute. The substitution forced midfielder Hal Hershfelt to replace Carle on the right wing.
The Spirit started the second half hungry for an attack. Trinity Rodman rocketed a shot in the 49th minute, saved by Wave keeper Kailen Sheridan. The Spirit rattled off a number of threatening possessions including breakaways from both Bethune and Rodman. Defender Casey Krueger added to the onslaught, streaking up the middle after megging a San Diego defender.
Connection up top between Sarr, Rodman, Bethune and Krueger resulted in eight shots on goal (three greater than the team’s average), but the back of the net remained elusive to the team. Rodman attempted six shots in this game – the highest total for a Spirit player this season – and finished with a game-high four shots on target and 13 touches in the opponent’s box.
The Spirit held 40.8% of the action in the final third within the last 15 minutes of the match, dominating the momentum. This aggression provided the team with multiple chances on set pieces, feeding off the crowd’s electric energy.
Bethune is the first player in NWSL history to score multiple result-changing goals at 90’+5’ or later in regular season play. She has done so in just 13 matches. Additionally, the goal was the second-latest in club history, trailing only Hatch’s 90’+10’ goal against San Diego in 2022.
Next up, the Spirit heads north to take on east coast rival NJ/NY Gotham FC in a highly anticipated match. The Sunday match, now kicking off at 1:30 p.m. EDT, will broadcast nationally on ESPN and serve as the opener of a women’s sports doubleheader, including a matchup between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky at 4 p.m. EDT.
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