The Washington Spirit defeated FC Kansas City 3-1 in front of a crowd of over 4,000 at their home opener at Maureen Hendricks Field at the Maryland SoccerPlex Saturday evening.
After coming off tough losses in their season openers, both teams were not only looking for their first points of the season, but their first goals. FCKC was defeated 1-0 by Sky Blue at home last week while the Spirit lost 2-0 in Houston.
There were some troubling moments for the Spirit early on in the match as almost immediately Rebecca Moros ran the ball into dangerous territory and Lauren Holiday was given the kind of space she needs to create solid scoring chances. Spirit defense were able to clear out any danger, but it wasn’t long before FCKC took an early lead. Heather O’Reilly passed the ball to Lauren Holiday for a little give and go but had to chase the return ball a little. No worries for O’Reilly though as she lofted the ball up over Ashlyn Harris to give FCKC the 1-0 lead.
The Spirit quickly answered back with a goal of their own three minutes later. Angela Salem redirected a pass to Christine Nairn who took a touch and sent an absolute rocket past Nicole Barnhart from about 30 yards out. Nairn scored again in the 65′ minute on a stunning free kick after Crystal Dunn was leveled just outside the box. Nairn sent a rising ball over the wall that clipped the underside of the crossbar and went in.
On scoring the first goal of the season for the Spirit: “I liked my chances at from that angle. It was on my left foot so why not? Mark (Parsons) has given me the green light all season to shoot from distance so I took a half chance and it went in” Nairn was the last Spirit player to score against FCKC in the 2014 season (also a rocket) and this season, she was the first.
Both teams mounted impressive attacks throughout the remnants of the first half; each encountering their challenges. For the Spirit, it was a combination of getting shots off before the defense swarmed the ball and having enough players forward to support long balls and quick runs. At one point Laura del Rio fought off three defenders while streaking down towards the corner but had no one there for the cross.
One of FCKC’s biggest concerns was finding the back of the net. FCKC had a number of chances in the first half alone that missed their mark and could have very well added to their one goal tally at the half.
Head coach Vlatko Andonovski had similar sentiments after the match noting that this was an issue the team faced against Sky Blue last week as well. “Seems like it was another game like our first game. That’s what happened the first game, we had opportunities, didn’t score goals and then we got punished.”
The other main issue for FCKC was Ashlyn Harris, who had nine saves on the night including some incredible ones in the first half; cutting off the angle on a one on one with Rodriguez and tipping a rising ball from O’Reilly out of harms way, among others. Andonovski, as well as Spirit coach Mark Parsons and players on both teams recognized the key role Harris played in keeping it a one goal game against a team that had so many dangerous chances.
In typical second half at home fashion, the Spirit came out after the break almost looking like a new team. In the 46th minute, Crystal Dunn dispossessed FCKC at mid field before charging down the middle of the field. Dunn passed it off to del Rio who sent it toward the goal. The shot was kicked by Barnhart but Dunn came crashing in to put it in the back of the net, scoring her first professional goal.
Parsons had nothing but praise for Dunn after the match, noting that she is a game changer. “She can change games in split seconds, she can help save games in split seconds. Her pace, energy, fight, desire going forward, her quality, one vs one dribbling, her creativity. Tonight, she gives us a different dimension.” There was a noticeable difference last week when Dunn entered the match and her playing a full 90 against FCKC really gave the team a spark.
The back line for the Spirit looked much stronger in the second half as well, particularly Megan Oyster who had some great decision making, good clearances and did a great job keeping Rodriguez from posing any real threat in the second half. The Spirit back line as a whole looked much improved second half, something that Parsons attributes, as well as the entire team performance, to the week’s training. Parsons noted that the energy and focus of everyone involved in the team was on point and the team had a quality training experience.
Something the Spirit will still need to work on is putting in a full 90 minute performance like they do in the second half; and that is something that Parsons claims he is still trying to figure out. “We’ve been analyzing everything, every element of training from the first day of training to the last; warm ups, music, everything, we are trying to fix it. If we can play like our second half, I think we are in a good position this year.”
The Washington Spirit next face Sky Blue FC on Sunday April 26, 2015 at 6 p.m. ET from Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ.
