Coming off the back of a 0-0 draw with the defending champions North Carolina Courage, Sky Blue FC (0-2-2, 2 points) head home to face the Washington Spirit in their second head-to-head matchup this season at 3 p.m. ET at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ for the club’s Champion Women Day celebration.
Streaming
The match will be streamed live on Yahoo Sports and in the NWSL app. International fans can watch on NWSLsoccer.com.
Preview
After earning their second point of the season in a 0-0 draw in North Carolina last Saturday to the Courage, Sky Blue FC get ready for their second chance at the Washington Spirit.
“We are looking forward and want to build even more off of our last two performances,” said Head Coach Denise Reddy. “We have had two good results but feel we have yet another gear to shift into.”
Sky Blue FC is 7-8-4 all-time against Washington. Sky Blue currently sits in eighth place in the National Women’s Soccer League standings, ahead of the Orlando Pride and one point behind Reign FC. A Sky Blue win this weekend would jump them ahead of the Spirit in the standings, who currently sit in sixth with four points.
A few new notable absences for Sky Blue will be seen in the backline as goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan has been called up to the Canadian National Team for their World Cup send-off match and Estelle Johnson has made the preliminary World Cup roster for Cameroon. Carli Lloyd missed out on last week’s match due to being named to the U.S. Women’s National Team World Cup roster.
Opponent
The Spirit earned a point at home with a draw last Saturday against Reign FC at the Maryland SoccerPlex. In a battle of defenses, the match ended in a 0-0 score line, with Aubrey Bledsoe holding down a shutout in net for the Spirit.
Coming off that performance, Bledsoe earned NWSL Save of the Week and Player of the Week for week 4. Bledsoe sits in third place for saves in the NWSL this season, two spots behind Sky Blue’s own goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.
With the news of Spirit players Rose Lavelle and Mallory Pugh being named to the United States Women’s World Cup team, they will mark a notable absence in the match against Sky Blue.
Sky Blue vs. Washington Rewind
In their season opener, Sky Blue FC faced the Washington Spirit in a hard-fought battle til the end that ultimately ended in a 2-0 victory by the Spirit. Goals came from Samantha Staab in the 59th minute and Megan Crosson in stoppage time, scoring in the 92nd minute. Against Sky Blue FC, the Washington Spirit have gone unbeaten in their last eight games including the most recent match on April 13th. Using the forward momentum created since their previous match, Sky Blue is motivated and confident in their ability to adapt and come back much stronger, looking for the upcoming win home at Yurcak Field.
Looking Ahead
After this Saturday’s match-up with the Spirit, Sky Blue FC hits the road to take on Reign FC on Saturday, May 18th at 4 p.m. ET at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington. Following the match with the Reign, Sky Blue returns home on Saturday, May 25th for a Memorial Weekend match-up with Portland Thorns FC at 6 p.m. ET.
Tickets
Tickets to all Sky Blue FC home games are available now by calling 888-SBFC-TIX or by visiting skybluefc.com. All fans at the game will receive a Sky Blue FC gameday program with player poster insert.
Season Ticket Memberships are still available. Call 888-SBFC-TIX today to learn about our No Unused Ticket Policy. All memberships receive an exclusive 2019 Season Ticket Membership scarf and access to members-only team events.