The Washington Spirit secured a 2-0 victory over the Portland Thorns with goals from Gift Monday and Croix Bethune, earning a spot in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) championship game. This win sets up the Spirit for their second straight NWSL final appearance, scheduled for the upcoming weekend in San Jose, California. The Spirit will face the winner of the Gotham FC versus Orlando Pride semifinal match.
This will mark the fourth time the Spirit has reached the championship game in their history, having been defeated 1-0 by the Pride in last season’s final. The opening goal of the match was initiated by Rosemonde Kouassi from a Thorns corner kick in the 27th minute. Kouassi’s quick play set up Monday for an easy tap-in goal, putting the Spirit in the lead.
Thorns goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold made several impressive saves to keep her team in the game, thwarting Spirit’s attempts to extend their lead. In the 69th minute, Spirit forward Sofia Cantore hit the post, missing a chance to make it 2-0. However, Bethune secured the victory for the Spirit in the 83rd minute with a well-executed finish past Arnold.
U.S. women’s national team forward Trinity Rodman made her comeback from a knee injury, entering the match in the 90th minute. Despite her efforts, Rodman’s late strike narrowly missed the target. The semifinal match drew a sell-out crowd of 19,365 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., marking the second consecutive year the Spirit has hosted an NWSL Playoff semifinal.