WASHINGTON, DC - On Saturday, August 8th, the Washington Spirit hosted North Carolina Courage at Audi Field. The visitors wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard, when Ashley Sanchez bagged a goal just 120 seconds into the match. Evelyn Ijeh added a second goal for NC Courage just a few minutes later, with an assist from Ally Schlegel. Sanchez got involved in her second goal of the night when she assisted Ijeh on a brace - giving the Courage a 3 goal lead on the quarter hour mark.

Head Coach Adrián González made four changes at the half in an attempt to lift… spirits in DC; Cantore, Tsé, Tamara, and Bernal made their way into the game and it paid instant dividends as Trinity Rodman pulled one back just two minutes into the second stanza. Three minutes later the substitute, Sofia Cantore, added a second goal of the half for the home side, cutting Courage’s lead to just one goal. North Carolina’s coach, Mak Lind, made some changes of his own on the hour mark; bringing in Vilde Bøe Risa, Wickenheiser, and Thompson.

The Spirit fought back and scored what looked to be an equalizer in the 90th minute when another halftime sub, Rebeca Bernal, scored the third goal for Washington. I was not to be, however, because Natalie Jacobs netted the winner in the 5th minute of stoppage time, with an assist by Rauch.

That’s two home losses in a row for the team in 2nd place; four losses in the last 6 played. Its a poor time to dip in form, just as the league is headed into the home stretch, barreling toward playoffs. Next up is an away trip to Angel City FC, who are fighting for their playoff lives and are desperate for a result; then a similar situation in a home game vs Orlando Pride. Washington will have a second home game in a row and face struggling Bay FC, but there are no easy matchups in this league and no guarantees.

Photographer Shawn Payne was on assignment for Protagonist Soccer and able to share his work from the evening.

Visit Shawn’s Website to see more of his work https://paynesonphotography.myportfolio.com/featured-work

written by Joshua Duder
photos by Shawn Payne