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Spirit to take on Bay FC, first 5,000 fans will receive special reversible Spirit x Hello Kitty® bucket hat
Washington, D.C. (08/29/2026) – The Washington Spirit will face off with Bay FC at Audi Field on Sunday afternoon as the team looks to end August with three more points. Kicking off at 12:30 p.m. EDT, the match will be the Spirit’s first-ever Hello Kitty® Day and feature a one-of-a-kind cobranded Spirit x Hello Kitty® bucket hat giveaway for the first 5,000 fans through the gates. Tomorrow’s match will air on ESPN2 for fans unable to attend in person at Audi Field.
On the Pitch
Sunday afternoon’s matchup between the Spirit and Bay FC will be just the seventh all-time meeting between the sides; they have met five times in the regular season and once in the playoffs. Washington has won all six previous contests, outscoring the San Jose-based side 14-4. In Bay FC’s last visit to DC, forward Ashley Hatch tallied a brace for the Spirit to deliver a home win at Audi Field.
Most recently, Washington and Bay FC faced off out west in early April. The Spirit earned its first win of the season behind a Bay own goal and an insurance goal from forward Gift Monday. The win was the first of 11 for the Spirit across a 13-match span through the end of July. Since the start of August, however, Washington is winless with three losses and a draw though the side still controls second place on the NWSL table. With a win this weekend, the Spirit would reach 12 wins in a season for the third straight year and fourth time in club history.
With nine matches still to play, the Spirit is led in scoring by star forward Trinity Rodman who has already set a new single season career high in goals with ten. The winger has also tallied five assists this season and tied Hatch for most career regular season goal contributions at 61. Forward Sofia Cantore and midfielder Leicy Santos have scored five goals each this season as well as the Spirit’s 30 goals for in 2026 are sixth-most in the league thus far.
In the defending third, the Spirit has been in strong form lately as well apart from a four-goal outing from the league scoring leader North Carolina Courage earlier this month. Since late March, Washington has allowed more than one goal in a single match just three times and has collected eight clean sheets. Across the same span, the Spirit has scored multiple goals in a match eight times.
Bay FC arrives in the nation’s capital having recently snapped a five-match winless streak. Last Sunday, forward Cristiana Girelli tallied her first career NWSL goal with a rebound putback in the 89th minute to deliver Bay FC a 1-0 win over the visiting Houston Dash. The goal marked the latest match-winner in Bay FC club history and the win was the club’s first-ever in which it didn’t lead at halftime.
Goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz collected nine saves in Bay FC’s shutout win last weekend, tied for the most in a single match in the NWSL this season. The shutout also marked Bay FC’s sixth clean sheet of the regular season. Silkowitz has tallied 157 saves since making her debut last year, more than any other keeper in the league.
Through 20 regular season matches, 13 different players have tallied a goal for Bay FC. Forward Karlie Lema leads the team with five goals, all coming with her right foot from open play inside the box. Four other players have recorded multiple goals this year, including former Spirit midfielder Dorian Bailey, while eight have contributed one score.
Having moved up a spot on the table after last weekend’s three points, Bay FC has the ability to move up another two spots into 12th place with a win and favorable results around the league this weekend. The side qualified for the NWSL Playoffs in its first season of existence in 2024 before missing out last season. With ten matches still to play, Bay FC can make a late season push to reach the top eight if it can carry its recent momentum forward.
Following tomorrow afternoon’s match, the Spirit will head to the west coast for the final time this regular season to take on Portland Thorns FC on Sunday, September 6. Bay FC will return home to host the Kansas City Current next Friday night in San Jose.
Around the Stadium
Fans in attendance for Sunday afternoon’s match at Audi Field will get to experience the Spirit’s first-ever Hello Kitty® Day. The first 5,000 fans through the gates will receive a special cobranded “Spirit in Bloom” reversible bucket hat featuring the Spirit crest and a patchwork of Hello Kitty® logos.
As fans enter Audi Field this weekend, they will be greeted with Hello Kitty®-themed activities, such as a coloring and friendship bracelet station located on the concourse and a photo moment at the Hello Kitty®-branded SPIRIT letters in Spiritville. During the match, fans can test their Hello Kitty® knowledge with Hello Kitty® Trivia and show off their friends on the video board during the Friendship Cam segment.
Inside Gate A, local DMV indie-pop-rock band Kids Table will be performing at the Spirit Stage for fans after gates open until kickoff. In addition to the exciting new Hello Kitty® features, Spiritville will continue to feature activations that fans will be sure to love on Sunday afternoon. Fan-favorites like the temporary airbrush tattoo station, facepainting station, poster-making station and yard games will be back and Spiritville will feature even more photo areas for fans to immortalize their visits to Audi Field including the all-new metro set.
Prior to kickoff, the national anthem will be performed by Ryan Flood while the colors are presented by the Metropolitan Police Department Honor Guard. On the pitch at halftime, the soccer action continues when some seven-on-seven competition kicks off with youth players from Montgomery Soccer Inc. and DC’s Maury Elementary School.
The concourse will also continue to feature several new concessions options that debuted at the season opener earlier this year. Around the southeast corner of the stadium will be food truck row with four unique food truck options to provide even more variety on matchday. In addition to a new pizza stand at the stadium, the north concourse will be home to a new vegan vending machine for inclusive options.
About The Washington Spirit
The Washington Spirit is the premier professional women’s soccer team based in Washington, D.C. and plays at Audi Field in Buzzard Point. The Spirit was founded on November 21, 2012 and is an inaugural member of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) the fastest growing sports league in the US. The club is home to some of the best players in the world who have won championships for both club and country. For more information about the Spirit, visit WashingtonSpirit.com and follow the club on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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