The Washington Spirit came into this match in second place, fighting for the chance to control home field advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs. They were able to keep that spot after beating the Chicago Red Stars 2-0, after Gotham FC beat the Orlando Pride 3-1. The Spirit and Gotham are tied on points, but the Spirit have a 4-goal advantage on the goal differential tiebreaker. Kansas City is one point behind, meaning the Spirit can finish anywhere from second to fourth based on the outcome of the last game of the season. If they win their final game against the North Carolina Courage, it would be incredibly difficult for Gotham to break the tie in their favor due to the high goal differential advantage as well as the Spirit holding the second tiebreaker, games won.
The Spirit controlled much of the match and the Red Stars really didn’t have much in the way of chances, which the Spirit scored once in each half. The first half goal came after a corner kick that was initially punched away by Red Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. The ball was then recycled out to Spirit centerback Tara McKeown, who was on the left side of the box. McKeown sent in the cross, which glanced off the head of a Red Stars defender and went directly to Spirit midfielder Heather Stainbrook, who was unmarked after taking the corner kick. Stainbrook brought the ball under control and then sent it into the far side of the goal, scoring her first professional goal. All six Spirit rookies have now scored in the regular season, which is an NWSL record.
The Spirit were able to control the rest of the first half and much of the second, although Chicago definitely had a few more chances than in the first. Then in the 69th minute, Spirit forward Rosemonde Kouassi and Red Stars forward Ludmila got in a tussle that earned Kouassi a red card and initially brought out the yellow for Ludmila, however after a VAR review, Ludmila was also sent off with a red, leaving both teams with 10 players each.
Then in the 83rd minute, Spirit forward Trinity Rodman intercepted a ball and dribbled toward goal. She then passed the ball between three defenders to fellow forward Ashley Hatch. Hatch continued her run toward the end line and pulled the opposing goalkeeper Naeher out of goal to try block her, leaving the entire net open. Hatch was able to get the ball across the face of goal just out of reach of the Chicago defense to an onrushing Makenna Morris. Morris then sent the ball, and herself, into the net, scoring the second and final goal of the night for the Spirit.
Both teams had a few more shots in regulation and the nine minutes of stoppage, but nothing too dangerous from either side and the Spirit held on to win 2-0. If they win their fi
