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Bridgeview, Ill. (05/10/2025) – The Washington Spirit extended its away winning streak to four matches this afternoon with a 3-2 victory over Chicago Stars FC. The Spirit also became the second team in league history to start a season 4-0-0 on the road.
The match opened up with an immediate attacking chance from the Spirit when defender Rebeca Bernal fired a shot off the woodwork in the first minute. Things quickly settled down as both sides jockeyed to control the match, neither side recording a shot for over 20 minutes of action.
Finally finding its footing on offense, the Spirit broke the seal in the 31st minute when a cross from forward Rosemonde Kouassi near the endline ricocheted off Chicago’s Ally Schlegel and into the net for an own goal and a 1-0 Spirit lead. The score marked the first own goal in Washington’s benefit since last September when the team took on San Diego out west.
Just five minutes later, however, the Stars leveled the match when former Spirit player Camryn Biegalski found Julia Grosso who made a move inside and found the back of the net on a crossing strike in the box.
Another five minutes later, Washington retook the lead when Kouassi recorded her first career NWSL goal in the 41st minute. Defender Tara McKeown lofted a ball deep into the box where Kouassi went airborne to finish it off. The goal made Kouassi the 500th different goal scorer in league regular season history. Kouassi became the sixth different player to score a goal for the Spirit this season while McKeown became the sixth to tally an assist.
Coming out of halftime, Chicago put pressure on the Spirit defending third. In the 53rd minute, Tara McKeown was forced to make a sliding block of a close-range shot in the box to stop a Stars attack. One minute later, Chicago once again found an equalizer when former Spirit player Sam Staab buried a loose ball in the box into the net.
The Spirit made two changes in the attack in the 62nd minute, subbing on Croix Bethune and Gift Monday for Meg Boade and Brittany Ratcliffe, respectively. Almost immediately, Monday had an opportunity near goal when Kouassi sent a long cross deep into the box but the ensuing header went high.
The Washington attack stayed strong with the side making effective moves up the field and finding shots. Bethune’s crafty work in the midfield led to Spirit counterattacks as the team kept pressure on Chicago. In the 79th minute, Chicago put together a dangerous chance inside the box, forcing Aubrey Kingsbury to make an impressive one-on-one save to keep the match level.
In the 83rd minute, Monday delivered the game-winning goal off an assist from Kouassi, who sent a cross into the box where Monday poked the ball home. The score marked Monday’s third goal in the last four matches, two of which have been game-winners.
Through extensive stoppage time at the end of the match, the Spirit defending third stepped up to hold onto the 3-2 lead until the final whistle. With the win, Washington snapped a two-match losing streak and got back into the win column for the first time since April 19’s upset victory in Orlando.
Next up, the Spirit returns home to Washington, D.C. to host Utah Royals FC at Audi Field on Saturday, May 17 in the club’s annual Salute to Service match. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Tickets are still available here.
-NWSL Match Report-
Match: Chicago Stars FC vs. Washington Spirit
Date: Saturday, May 10, 2025
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, Illinois)
Kickoff: 12:50 p.m. EDT
Weather: Sunny, high-60s
Scoring Summary:
| Goals | 1 | 2 | F |
| Chicago | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Washington | 2 | 1 | 3 |
WAS – Ally Schlegel – 31’ (OG)
CHI – Julia Grosso – 36′ (assisted by Camryn Biegalski)
WAS – Rosemonde Kouassi – 41′ (assisted by Tara McKeown)
CHI – Sam Staab – 54′
WAS – Gift Monday – 83′ (assisted by Rosemonde Kouassi)
Lineups:
CHI: 1 – Alyssa Naeher; 32 – Taylor Malham; 3 – Sam Staab; 4 – Cari Roccaro; 30 – Camryn Biegalski (7 – Ava Cook, 90+1’); 20 – Bea Franklin; 21 – Julia Grosso; 77 – Maitane (23 – Micayla Johnson, 90+1’); 8 – Jameese Joseph (11 – Chardonnay Curran, 78’); 14 – Ludmila; 34 – Ally Schlegel (10 – Shea Groom, 78’)
Unused Substitutes: 19 – Mackenzie Wood; 13 – Leilanni Nesbeth; 16 – Manaka Hayashi; 26 – Nádia Gomes; 41 – Hannah Anderson
WAS: 1 – Aubrey Kingsbury; 14 – Gabby Carle; 5 – Rebeca Bernal; 9 – Tara McKeown; 24 – Esme Morgan; 5 – Narumi Miura (16 – Courtney Brown, 79’); 35 – Meg Boade (7 – Croix Bethune, 62’); 8 – Makenna Morris (3 – Casey Krueger, 79’); 19 – Rosemonde Kouassi; 33 – Ashley Hatch; 13 – Brittany Ratcliffe (21 – Gift Monday, 62’)
Unused Substitutes: 28 – Sandy MacIver; 22 – Heather Stainbrook; 25 – Kysha Sylla; 34 – Kiley Dulaney; 39 – Chloe Ricketts
Stats Summary: CHI / WAS
Shots: 12 / 9
Shots On Goal: 4 / 2
Saves: 0 / 2
Fouls: 12 / 7
Offsides: 1 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
WAS – Tara McKeown – 90+9’ – Yellow Card
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