The Washington Spirit, playing back at home after the previous week’s 1-0 win against last season’s champion Orlando, took on NY/NJ Gotham FC in a rematch of the semifinal last year. This time, however, it was all Gotham, especially in the first half. In just the third minute, Gotham got on a board with a goal from rookie forward Sarah Schupansky. This was followed by a penalty kick after a trip in the box with Golden Boot leader Esther González getting the ball just past a diving Aubrey Kingsbury. Their final first half goal came again off of Esther González when she was able to score on a corner kick.
The second half saw more action and cohesion for the Spirit, but they were unable to make any of their numerous chances count. As the weather went from light rain in the first half to sun around halftime and then to a downpour part way through the second half, the Spirit fought hard but couldn’t make any headway against Gotham. One bright spot for the home side was the return of midfielder Croix Bethune, last season’s rookie and midfielder of the year, who was finally returning from injury to get in the game at the 80th minute.
In the waning minutes of the 0-3 loss, head coach Jonatan Giráldez was shown a red card by the referee and, after pleading his case, exited the field. He will not be able to coach the team’s next game against Angel City FC at Audi on May 2nd.
