The Spirit produced a dominant display over the Current on Throwback Night in an highly anticipated NWSL matchup between last year’s top two seeded teams.
The stars aligned for a momentous occasion at Audi Field after the international break for the Washington Spirit.
All eyes were on star player Trinity Rodman, who became the youngest player in league history to make 100 NWSL regular season games and capped off her night in style.
Both teams were unchanged from their previous games, both winning before the international break.
Coach Adrián González’s side started the game strong, maintaining possession and looking to cause a threat on goal early through the likes of Trinity Rodman and Rosemonde Kouassi.
The Spirit fed off the energy from the home crowd, as Kansas City Current looked to silence the crowd with some big chances by former Spirit player Croix Bethune, but was denied by the heroics of goalkeeper Sandy MacIver.
A quarter of the way through, Washington broke the deadlock, with a goal by midfielder Leicy Santos, from a tantalizing cross into the box by Trinity Rodman.
The Current looked to quickly bounce back, however struggled to find their stride, not using the attacking presence of Tenwa Chawinga and Ally Sentnor up front.
As the half came to a close, the Spirit managed to secure their second of the night, through their cult hero Rodman, who capitalised on a Lorena Leite mistake from a corner to tap home her goal on the stroke of half-time.
Scoring on a historic occasion, the American international was glad the team continued their form from the break.
She said: “It’s great for us to have that confidence because it gives us momentum going into the next games.”
“I think being able to score this many goals against Kansas too is amazing for our confidence.“
In the second half, coach Chris Armas looked to his bench, to make changes that could shift the momentum in his team’s favour.
The Spirit midfield managed to maintain the tempo of the game incredibly well, with Hal Hershfelt and Rebeca Bernal, and Leicy Santos at the top of the trio.
Santos made herself available in behind the Current defence of Kayla Sharples and Gabriella Robinson, who struggled to contain Santos’ trickery and quick feet in attacking scenarios.
Kansas City aimed to find ways to break down the home side’s defence, however were always faced with the same answers, with a resilient display by captain Tara Rudd and Esme Morgan, alongside Italian international Lucia Di Guglielmo.
Post-game, Di Guglielmo spoke more about carrying the form from their big win after the break into their future fixtures.
She said: “We were ready to face this team especially at home. It was fundamental, we are getting better game by game and we are really proud of this.“
Winger Rosemonde Kouassi was a catalyst to the brutal counter-attacks by Washington, and she found herself in excellent goal-scoring opportunities all game long.
Midfielder Santos managed to get her name back on the scoresheet, securing a brace to further extend the lead.
The away side managed to find themselves in front of goal and put the ball in the back of the net, but was ruled offside.
Claudia Martinez entered the game for forward Sofia Cantore and made her impact right away, grabbing herself a goal, becoming the first Paraguayan player to score in the NWSL.
The goal capped off a dominant display, with the Spirit’s first home win of the season and a performance left with no answers by coach Armas’ Current side.
Post-match on the remarkable win, coach González was left impressed by his team’s performance.
González said: “It’s great to see them getting better every week. We are training every week much better and the results will come.”
He remarked about midfielder Leicy Santos’s Man of the Match performance, he said: “I think she had the best game since I’ve been here. She wants to compete, she wants to fight. For me, she did an amazing game.”
As the international break came round before this highly-anticipated game, Kansas City coach Armas spoke about the chances missed that would have given them enough rhythm.
He said: “Before they score, we had our chances and before half-time, it’s a tough one to give up on a set piece.”
“Goals change games and if we could have nicked a few, it looks one way and then we face an uphill battle.”
He added: “It’s a tough place to play against a tough team to beat.”
Featured Image courtesy by Hameltion via Wikimedia Commons.