The Washington Spirit is headed back to the NWSL Championship after a chippy, hard-fought 2-1 win over the Utah Royals.
It makes a third consecutive trip to the finals for the Spirit. It will be the first of those championship matches to be hosted in D.C. at the club’s home of Audi Field.
21-year-old striker Clara Luvanga, who joined the Spirit only in September, delivered the game-winning goal early in the second half.
Washington allowed an early goal off a Utah corner kick in the opening two minutes. (It was the fastest goal in NWSL playoff history.) But the Spirit quickly found an equalizer from Sofia Cantore, who converted a stellar pass from Trinity Rodman, and the game remained tied until halftime.
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The NWSL championship will be held next Saturday at Audi Field at 8 p.m. The Spirit will face the winner of the other semifinal, between Gotham FC and the Kansas City Current, which will take place Sunday at 3 p.m.
Saturday’s game was played with football lines painted on the pitch to accommodate a double-header with the NCAA Division III Secretaries’ Cup — scheduled to kick off less than two-and-a-half hours after the end of the Spirit game at 4:30 P.M. (NWSL lines were painted in canary yellow and NCAA football lines were painted in white. The bases of the goal posts were installed with padding.) A mad dash to resolve a scheduling conflict led to both games being hosted at Audi Field on Saturday.
With attendance of 19,365, it was the sixth consecutive playoff sellout for the Spirit.
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