Washington, DC – At times it seemed like neither side wanted to win this game as both the Spirit and the Reign traded golden opportunities to break the games deadlock. That was of course not to come as this game would go to penalties, where Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury would be the hero as she saved two penalties and converted her own.
It’s not very often a 0-0 game has a much drama as this one did, it all started when Kingsbury had to pull off a double save after Reign midfielder, Rose Lavelle would force two quickfire shots both being saved by Kingsbury. Then just a few moments later it would be Jess Fishlock who looked to put them up after closing down on the goal and ended up pulling the shot wide in the 19th minute. That chance would be both teams last for the rest of the half, a stark comparison from when these two teams last faced off when the Spirit would end the half with ten shots on target.
As the second half began, it appeared both teams started to wake up and start creating some chances. Starting with Lavelle who would find herself in all types of room down the left flank, she would fire off a near post shot that would just glance off the woodwork. The Spirit would have multiple big chances early in the second half, but that all met the same demise as none of them would test the keeper but instead be blocked. The next big chance for the Reign would come from substitute Ally Watt who had arguably the best chance all night as she was able to win the foot race between her and Spirit defender Sam Staab. She fired off her shot only a few feet away from Kingsbury yet missed the entire goal after dragging it wide, all whilst having a teammate left unmarked in the center of the box.
It would take until the 70th minute for the Washington Spirit to finally look the defending Champions, a blitz of chances would come starting with a Trinity Rodman header that went just wide. A few moments later, it would be Ashley Sanchez who after making a dazzling run through the midst of the Reigns defense would fire off a long shot that was dipping into the near post until Reign goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce made a diving save. Just seconds later it would be Julia Roddar who looked like she had been able to chip the keeper from outside the box but the ball would eventually bounce off the woodwork.
As the half was dwindling down, it seemed if it was almost destined for a penalty shootout as both teams continued to fumble away what seemed to be to0-good-to-be true chances. Then in the 93rd minute, the Reign would have a corner with just seconds left in added time. Up step Megan Rapinoe (making her first appearance since the NWSL Semi-Final), the 36 yo winger and long time USWNT player though she had won her team a last second penalty kick after her corner bounced off the arm off a Spirit player. Every Reign player stopped as the ref blew their whistle, but instead of pointing to the penalty spot they called an end to the game. Every Reign player, the commentators, and all of twitter thought it was a clear-as-day penalty, but the Challenge Cup does not have VAR so the decision could not be reviewed. So with no review possible and no extra-time (Challenge Cup rules) the game went directly to penalty kicks. It would be Sam Staab who would score the winning PK for the Spirit after Kingsbury would make two impressive saves and give the Spirit the 9-8 penalty win.
What’s next for the Spirit?
They don’t get to celebrate this win for to long as the final is just three days away as they will travel down to North Carolina to face the Courage. A team they have become very familiar with over a short period of time, as this will be the clubs third time facing each other already in 2022. The Challenge Cup final will kickoff at 1:00pm on Saturday May 7th.
What’s next for the Reign.
At times it seemed like the Reign would score three or four goals against the Spirit, yet they could not finish one of the many chances they were able to create in a game in which they dominated for the most part. The fans, players and most of twitter feel as if they were robbed after the handball wasn’t called. Players even took to twitter to voice their opinion, Nikki Stanton had this to say “The refs aren’t good enough, there was a lot on the line tonight” ending the tweet with simply “Watch Out”. They will get a chance to focus their anger on Sunday as they host Racing Louisville at 6pm.
