Washington Spirit 1-Sky Blue FC 0
PISCATAWAY, NJ-The Washington Spirit are back on the board! After five long matches the Spirit have earned the three points, getting a second half goal to defeat Sky Blue FC 1-0.
With a packed crowd and a returning Carli Lloyd and Rose LaVelle one might have expected a bit of an attack heavy first half. But both sides played a bit cautiously early in the first half with possession being placed at a premium. On the Spirit side the midfield tandem of LaVelle and Andi Sullivan maintained control by moving in and out of the center of the pitch, looking for the right sequence to open up for Mallory Pugh. But Washington were stymied by two former teammates in Caprice Dydasco and Estelle Johnson who limited Pugh’s shots inside of the eighteen.
Midway through the first half the Spirit pressure finally paid off. In the 34th minute Sullivan found Pugh with space down the right side. Pugh’s run caught Johnson off guard giving her an open path to goal. She hit a low curving shot towards the far left post that just went wide of the mark.
As for Sky Blue their best attacking chances came from midfielder Imani Dorsey, who used her speed to create little seams within the Spirit defense. In the 44th minute she worked her way into spot right in front of the Spirit goal. After connecting up with Paige Monaghan she fired a shot that was just deflected out of bounds by Tori Huster.
Washington continued their strong attacking form in the second half with LaVelle taking on multiple defenders on every possession. That in turn freed her teammates up to make their own attacking runs and in the 54th minute Ashley Hatch capitalized. After intercepting a pass from a Sky Blue defender, Hatch made a darting run towards goal with little interference. Her low shot beat Sheridan giving her side the lead.
With a capacity crowd and in need of some points Sky Blue ramped up the pressure on the Spirit defense. Substitute Elizabeth Eddy provided some spark off the bench, breaking into the box in the 73rd minute. However, before she could get a shot off Sullivan was there to move her wide and give her teammates a chance to regroup.
Sky Blue’s best chance came in the 87th minute when Erica Skroskie hit a high shot down the right side. Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe had to make a bit of a jump but came down with the shot some ease. Bledsoe had a relatively quiet night, making two saves on the night to earn her sixth clean sheet of the season.
For Sky Blue the loss extends their losing streak to two matches. They will hope for better luck on Sunday when they travel to Houston to take on the Dash (8:30 PM EST, Yahoo).
As for Washington (6-4-3, 21 points) the win couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. Not only does the win snap their five game winless run and move them back into the top of the four of the NWSL standings, but it also gives them a much-needed boost ahead of their match next week against the North Carolina Courage (August 2nd, 7:30pm ).
GAME SUMMARY
Washington Spirit-Aubrey Bledsoe, Amy Harrison, Samantha Staab, Paige Nielsen, Tori Huster, Jordan DiBiasi (Cheyna Matthews 71′), Rose LaVelle, Chloe Logarzo (Elise Kellond-Knight 66′), Andi Sullivan, Ashley Hatch, and Mallory Pugh
Goal- Hatch (54′)
Yellow Card- Huster (90+2′)
Sky Blue FC-Kailen Sheridan, Caprice Dydasco, Estelle Johnson, Gina Lewandowski, Erica Skroskie, Julie James, Imani Dorsey, Raquel Rodriguez, Sarah Killion, Paige Monaghan (Elizabeth Eddy 57′), and Carli Lloyd
Yellow Card- James (50′)
ATTENDANCE: 5,003
Washington Spirit
