After being down in Florida and starting things the best way possible in winning the NWSL Challenge Cup, the momentum continued for the Washington Spirit as they were able to defeat the Houston Dash by a final of 2-1 on Friday.
The ladies play well in Texas as they have won three in a row for the first time in nine years and were also able to gain back-to-back victories against the Dash.
When it came time for the ladies gaining the victories some of the themes of the match came from the fact that they were able to adjust to the game plan that Houston brought to the pitch on that day.
Overall all it was an action packed night as those in attendance got to see plenty of action in terms of scoring.
The offensive opportunities started at the ninth minute when Narumi Miura went for an opportunity that went wide of the net.
Houston tried for chances on their side of the fence but those were stimied by Spirit Goalkeeper
Aubrey Kingsbury, with one of those saves being of the ESPN Top 10 quality.
It was in the 16′ that the Spirit found the back of the net on a goal by Makenna Morris, as she was able to cash in on a rebounded opportunity that was first shot by Casey Krueger.
Morris is coming into this season after a wonderful rookie performance and now has six goals in 13 career regular season appearances.
The ladies were able to keep the pedal to the medal as later on Chloe Ricketts tried for a chance that hit the crossbar. For Ricketts this is her third career regular season start, and she is going to be one to watch for during the course of the 2025 Season.
It was in the 33′ when the Spirit doubled the lead on a goal by Ashley Hatch, there is conversations that opportunity maybe under review but for now it was the leading scorer that helped to increase the lead.
In the welcome back department Trinity Rodman saw time in the match, as it was her first in any match since November’s championship and had herself a great scoring opportunity in the 69th minute.
The Dash would not go down without a fight though as they got their first goal at the 75th minute thanks to Maggie Graham.
From there it was all about the defense and the play of Kingsbury to hold the fort and get the huge three points on the road.
After the match Head Coach Jonatan Giráldez along with Ricketts and Morris chatted with media via Zoom to share the thoughts on the match as well as some of the other thoughts as to the moments that occurred within.
The thing that was the most fascinating to listen too was the fact that Coach Giráldez is now in his first season with the team,as he joined as the Gapper for the Club later on in the 2024 season. Now the ladies have a chance to play under Coach for a full year and it’ll be facinating to see what changes and adjustments are going to be made.
The ladies now head back to the Washington D.C. area to prepare, plan and train for the upcoming match against the Kansas City Current that is to take place on March 22. That is going to be a special one as that is going to be the Home Opener at Audi Field and there is expected to be a ton of fun activities planned on that day.
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