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Washington, D.C. (10/17/2026) – The Washington Spirit took a crucial 1-0 home win over rival Gotham FC on Saturday afternoon, clinching its third consecutive berth in the NWSL Playoffs in the process. Defender Lucia Di Guglielmo netted the match-winner in the 70th minute, her first goal since joining the Spirit.
The Spirit opened up against a tough Gotham FC side on the front foot with its attackers playing forward on the flanks. In the third minute, the Spirit had a great opportunity as Trinity Rodman played a ball into Clara Luvanga, but Luvanga missed slightly wide.
After ten minutes of play, the Spirit had retained most of the possession and continued to work through the midfield. After a series of quick passes on the flank between Rodman, Hal Hershfelt and Leicy Santos, the Spirit was able to switch the point of attack in the 21st minute. This allowed Sofia Cantore to drive down the right side and send a ball into the box for a solid attacking chance but Gotham was able to clear.
Sandy MacIver held down the defensive third in goal and Tara Rudd was consistent in shutting down runners and potential threats. Both Rodman and Hershfelt had hard shots on target late in the first half but Gotham keeper Ann-Katrin Berger collected.
In the 43rd minute, Cantore headed down the left side and played a lofted ball for Rodman into the box. Rodman got a head on it and directed it toward the back post, forcing Berger to make a diving save to send the ball over the crossbar.
Coming out of halftime, midfielder Leicy Santos was subbed off for Mélissa Bethi, who would provide the service for the Spirit’s match-winning goal. In the 70th minute, the midfielder sent a ball into the box for Di Guglielmo who positioned herself well, collected and poked the ball home for the 1-0 lead.
In the 72nd minute, the Spirit nearly scored a second when Bethi rang off the crossbar. Rosemonde Kouassi and Ashley Hatch came on for Cantore and Luvanga in the 79th minute to try and round out the match for the Spirit.
During a Gotham attack in the winding minutes, a foul was called on Andi Sullivan, but the Spirit held tall on defense through a free kick and corner kick to keep its 1-0 lead. Washington’s defending third limited Gotham chances throughout a short three minutes of stoppage time until the final whistle.
With the win, the Spirit guaranteed itself a berth in next month’s NWSL Playoffs and overtook second on the table at least for the time being. With several results around the league going Washington’s way tonight and tomorrow, the side could clinch a home quarterfinal match before it takes the field next.
Next up, the Spirit will head to Kansas City to face the Current at 5 p.m. EDT on Sunday, October 25 for its final away match of the 2026 regular season.
-NWSL Match Report-
Match: Washington Spirit vs. Gotham FC
Date: Saturday, October 17, 2026
Venue: Audi Field (Washington, D.C.)
Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. EDT
Weather: Partly sunny, mid-50s
Scoring Summary:
| Goals | 1 | 2 | F |
| Washington | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Gotham | 0 | 0 | 0 |
WAS – Lucia Di Guglielmo – 70′ (assisted by Mélissa Bethi)
Lineups:
WAS: 18 – Sandy MacIver; 14 – Gabrielle Carle; 24 – Esme Morgan; 9 – Tara Rudd; 13 – Lucia Di Guglielmo; 10 – Leicy Santos (7 – Mélissa Bethi, 46’); 12 – Andi Sullivan; 17 – Hal Hershfelt; 2 – Trinity Rodman; 25 – Clara Luvanga (33 – Ashley Hatch, 79’); 27 – Sofia Cantore (19 – Rosemonde Kouassi, 78’)
Unused Substitutes: 28 – Sara Wojdelko; 5 – Élisabeth Tsé; 8 – Monique Ngock; 11 – Claudia Martínez; 16 – Tamara Bolt; 26 – Paige Metayer
GFC: 30 – Ann-Katrin Berger; 4 – Leila Ouahabi (8 – Taryn Torres, 59’); 15 – Tierna Davidson; 27 – Jess Carter; 22 – Mandy Freeman (29 – Olivia Wingate, 59’); 5 – Denise O’Sullivan; 16 – Rose Lavelle (24 – Andrea Kitahata, 90’); 7 – Jaelin Howell (13 – Savannah McCaskill, 90’); 18 – Guro Reiten (14 – Talia Sommer, 76’); 20 – Sam Kerr; 23 – Midge Purce
Unused Substitutes: 1 – Shelby Hogan; 10 – Jaedyn Shaw; 25 – Meredith Speck; 28 – Tess Boade
Stats Summary: WAS / GFC
Shots: 13 / 5
Shots On Goal: 6 / 2
Saves: 2 / 5
Fouls: 12 / 10
Offsides: 4 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
GFC – Jaelin Howell – 61′ – Yellow Card
GFC – Taryn Torres – 90+4′ – Yellow Card
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