Originally published July 31, 2014
The Washington Spirit’s playoff hopes are still alive after their 2-1 home victory over FC Kansas City. FCKC could have clinched home playoff berth with a victory, but they will have to wait until their next game, against Seattle Reign FC, to secure that playoff spot.
The win keeps the Spirit in the playoff race. They will still be missing Jodie Taylor when they play the Red Stars on Saturday. The next game doesn’t get any easier as they travel to Seattle to play the nearly unbeatable Reign. The Spirit will end their season at home against Sky Blue FC on Saturday August 16th.
The game got off to a remarkably sluggish start as both sides appeared content to keep the ball in the middle third.
In the 18th minute FC Kansas City center back Becky Sauerbrunn made one of her signature offensive runs into the box and ripped a shot that flew above Spirit goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris to give FCKC a 1-0 lead.
The Spirit almost equalized in the 27th minute when Spirit midfielder Kerstin Garefrekes shook off a couple of FCKC defenders and ripped a shot from the right side of the box. However, her shot hit the post and FCKC retained their 1-0 advantage.
Christine Nairn nearly scored one of her signature shots from distance in the 40th minute, but her shot was just a touch too high and sailed harmlessly over the crossbar for a FCKC goal kick.
Notably, Becky Sauerbrunn continued to take goal kicks for Barnhart. Barnhart also did limited warm ups prior to the game and didn’t appear to have her usual full range of movement during the game. Despite this, she managed to keep a clean sheet in the first half.
Lisa De Vanna replaced Danesha Adams to start the second half. De Vanna immediately added tremendous pace and pressure to the Spirit attack. Her relentless play paid off in the 49th minute when she saved the ball from rolling over the end line and dribbled to create enough space to send the ball to Garefrekes who headed it past Barnhart and equalize for the Spirit.
De Vanna continued her penetrating runs, giving the FCKC backline quite a bit to deal with. Her smart movement in the offensive third created more space for her teammates including Christine Nairn.
In the 67th minute DeVanna played the ball into Nairn at the top of the box. Nairn blasted a shot to Barnhart’s right and Barnhart’s full extension dive wasn’t enough to keep the ball out of the net as the Spirit took a 2-1 lead.
FCKC pushed for an equalizer and team leading scorer Amy Rodriguez managed to get a couple of shots on goal, but the Spirit remained well organized and held the scoreline at 2-1 to earn a critical victory.
FCKC head coach Vlatko Andonovski explained after the game that the loss was primarily due to squad rotation, fatigue, and motivation. “We played five games in two weeks,” he said.
“It is right before the playoffs so we have to find a way to get everyone as fresh as possible and not hit a wall or get fatigued.” Andonovski added “They [the Spirit] are very organized and disciplined almost every time we play them. They wanted it more than us and it is hard to play against them.”
De Vanna made a tremendous impact for the Spirit after her second half substitution. Sauerbrunn explained that she felt DeVanna was central to the Spirit’s two goal comeback. “Her speed is always going to be a problem,” she explained. “When she [De Vanna] feels it, she is going to be a game changer. She was feeling it tonight, you could tell. She is a handful. She opens up a lot of things for other people and they capitalized.”
De Vanna joined the Spirit via a trade with the Boston Breakers just over a month ago. Her quick acclimation to the team has been essential in several Spirit victories including the win last night. De Vanna noted “I feel free and I can play the way I want to play. Mark gives me a free role to go out and do what I can do.”
FC Kansas City (11-6-4) currently sits second with in the league with 37 points and will face Seattle Reign FC at home this Saturday August 7th at 8 PM Eastern. The Washington Spirit (9-8-4) move to third in the league with 31 points. The Spirit only have two days of rest before facing fellow play off contenders, the Chicago Red Stars, on Saturday at 6:30 PM Eastern.