With little room to spare, the Washington Spirit earned its first win of August on Sunday.
Washington defeated Bay FC 1-0 for the team’s first victory since July 29, behind Paige Metayer’s 45th-minute goal. The win kept the Spirit in second place in the NWSL standings at 40 points, with Utah and San Diego both tied for third with 39 points. Gotham FC leads the league with 45 points.
The victory also keeps the Spirit undefeated against Bay FC in their seven meetings.
Washington had struggled since defeating Utah 1-0 on July 29. The Spirit lost 1-0 to San Diego on Aug. 2, 4-3 to North Carolina on Aug. 8 and 1-0 to Orlando on Aug. 23, with an Aug. 16 tie with Angel City FC accounting for the team’s lone point in the standings prior to Sunday.
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The Spirit’s slide coincided with a surge from Gotham, which has posted four wins and two ties since July 29. That stretch allowed Gotham to overtake Washington atop the league standings.
Sunday provided Washington a good opportunity to get back on track: Entering the match, Bay FC had just one win in its previous six contests. But the California-based squad earned Sunday’s first real chance, as Karlie Lema’s shot hit off the crossbar in the 40th minute.
Shortly after, the Spirit got on the board. In the 45th minute, Trinity Rodman took a quick feed on the left side of the field and maneuvered her way through a pair of defenders and into the box. Rodman’s left-footed shot hit off the crossbar and landed on the goal line, but officials let play continue and Metayer scored off the rebound. It was the midfielder’s first goal of the season.
A few minutes before the goal, forward Ashley Hatch went down with an injury and was subbed off for Mélissa Bethi. Hatch was in her third game with the team after returning from maternity leave on Aug. 16. The Spirit did not provide an update on Hatch’s status after the match, but she was seen leaving the field in a walking boot.
With two months remaining in the regular season and the winless streak now in the rearview, Washington will face a schedule that should allow them to stay within striking distance of Gotham. After a match against the Portland Thorns, who are currently fifth in the NWSL standings, the team’s next four meetings are against Boston, Chicago, Angel City FC and Houston, all of which are currently outside the league’s playoff race.
This story was updated to include details on Ashley Hatch’s injury.
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