Washington DC (June 29, 2024) – The Washington Spirit lost 1-0 to North Carolina Courage in a hard-fought game played in front of 15,717 spectators, the fourth-largest home attendance in Spirit history.
Seeking to extend their unbeaten streak to seven games, the Spirit fielded nearly the same starting lineup as they did against New Jersey on Sunday, but Paige Metaire Exchange Andy SullivanSullivan was listed as questionable for today's game.
After both teams traded ball for most of the first 15 minutes, NC Courage broke the deadlock with a goal from Ashley Sanchez in the 19th minute. The former Spirit player scored her third goal of the season in her first game at Audi Field since being traded in January.
Coming into the game, Courage had won 44 straight games by time of possession, and the first half of this game was no exception, as they dominated possession down the middle of the field and gave the Spirit a hard time.
Despite the Courage's early goal, the Spirit did not let up and continued to attack the North Carolina goal, making multiple attempts but without success. Trinity Rodman and Urey Saar He put pressure on the College defense with two near-miss shots late in the first half.
Despite the loss, the Spirit managed just 13 shots on goal in just 46 minutes, their season average. After a series of struggles on the field, the Spirit made two substitutions in the 63rd minute of the game. Makenna Morris As a substitute Gabby Karl and Heather Stainbrook For Metaie.
This was Morris' second appearance of the season and his first since the season opener. Tonight was Stainbrook's first time playing in consecutive games, as he was a second-half substitute in the Spirit's previous game against Gotham FC. However, it gave Stainbrook the opportunity to earn his most playing time of the season, having played five minutes in each of his previous two appearances. The substitutions saw a number of Spirit players move into new positions as the team looked to score an equalizer late in the game.
The Spirit continued to attack the NC Courage goal until the final whistle, attempting six shots in added time and totaling 20 shots on the game, the most in a single NWSL game this season.
The Spirit next travel to the West Coast to take on Bay FC on Saturday, July 6th at 10pm EDT.
-NWSL match report-
Match: Washington Spirit vs. North Carolina Cougars
date: Saturday, June 29, 2024
venue: Audi Field (Washington DC)
kick off: 7:30pm EDT
weather: Partly cloudy with temperatures in the upper 80s.
Scoring summary:
the goal | 0 | 0 | debt |
Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 |
North Carolina | 1 | 0 | 1 |
NC – Ashley Sanchez – 19'
lineup:
Previous rankings: 1 – Aubrey Kingsbury, 3 – Casey Kruger, 5 – Anaig Butell, 9 – Tara McKeon, 14 – Gabby Karl (8 – McKenna Morris, 63’), 17 – Hal Hirschfeldt, 26 – Paige Metayer (22 – Heather Stainbrook, 63’), 7 – Cloix Bethune (33 – Ashley Hatch, 74’), 16 – Courtney Brown (6 – Kate Wiesner, 46’), 11 – Orley Sarr (13 – Brittany Ratcliff, 74’), 2 – Trinity Rodman
Unused replacement: 28 – Nicole Bernhardt; 39 – Chloe Ricketts; 4 – Lena Cyrano; 12 – Andy Sullivan
NC: 1 – Casey Murphy, 11 – Felicitas Rauch, 7 – Maria Barkley, 3 – Kaylee Kurtz, 13 – Ryan Williams, 10 – Denise O’Sullivan, 6 – Narumi Miura, 14 – Tyler Russi (25 – Meredith Speck, 64’), 8 – Briana Pinto (94 – Victoria Pickett, 64’), 2 – Ashley Sanchez (17 – Dani Weatherholt, 89’), 23 – Bianca St. George (5 – Haley Hopkins, 45’)
Unused replacement: 44 – Marisa Bova; 16 – Riley Jackson; 34 – Aika Matsukubo; 19 – Randi Mertz; 15 – Jenna Winebrenner
Statistical Overview: WAS/NC
Number of shots: 20 / 8
Shots on goal: 4 / 5
Saves: 4/4
Tackles won: 14/15
Fouls: 10 / 6
Offside: 1 / 3
Summary of fraudulent activity:
NC – Meredith Speck – 75' – Yellow Card
WAS – Hal Hirschfeld – 80' – Yellow Card