The Spirit will finish the preliminary round with seven points, and will receive seeding for the knockout stages after this weekend’s fixtures have concluded.

Washington started the match on an aggressive note from the start of the match, as the ladies were on the attacking third of the field.  Within the first 15 minutes, the Spirit had three clear chances but all were saved by Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell.

At the 16th minute, forward Kumi Yokoyama received a ball from Tori Huster, then found forward Ashley Hatch at the top of the box who then distributed the ball to midfielder Bayley Feist with space at the top of the box. Feist struck a quick, right-footed attempt to the bottom-left corner the goal, beating an outstretched Campbell to give the Spirit the lead.

Washington was tremendous throughout the first half as they continued to create opportunities and controlled the tempo of the match, as the team headed into the break with a 1-0 lead. The team had eight shots on goal and a 69% possession and was able to limit the Houston Dash attack to only two shots in the 45 minute span.

The Spirit were able to continue to dictate the tempo of the match during the second half, as within the first ten minutes forward Ashley Sanchez was able to run down the left flank, cut inside to find Hatch for a wonderful attempt that was saved by the Houston keeper.

Houston created a wonderful opportunity of their own in the 67th minute, when forward Katie Stengel put a shot on target that was denied by the Spirit defense.

Washington will now move on to the knockout round of the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, which will be played on Friday, July 17 and Saturday, July 18. All of the teams in the NWSL will know their fate in the knockout round after tomorrow’s matches conclude

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