Washington Spirit goaltender Aubrey Kingsbury saved all three penalties he faced in a 3-0 penalty shootout victory over reigning champion New Jersey/New York Gotham FC at Audi Field on Saturday and will advance to next week’s NWSL. advanced to the championship.
The teams were tied 1-1 until the 120th minute after the Spirit forced overtime near the end of regulation.
Spirit midfielder Hal Hirschfeld scored Washington’s tying goal in second-half stoppage time, and Gotham offset Esther Gonzalez’s goal late in the first half and played the final 19 minutes of overtime down by one. Kingsbury also performed heroically in the shootout, sending a sold-out crowd of more than 19,000 fans into a frenzy in the nation’s capital.
After the game, Kingsbury said, “(I) just read a lot.” “And I think it’s just the confidence and having the fans behind me. I was really trying to get them into it. That’s when the penalty taker came up and in front of that one I knew it would be a big advantage for them as they were trying to score.”I think the wall of fans is scary. ”
Washington will play the winner of Sunday’s semifinal game between the top-seeded Orlando Pride and fourth-seeded Kansas City Current in the NWSL Championship on Nov. 23 at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
“I think we’re here because we deserve it,” Spirit head coach Jonathan Giraldes said. “Nobody gave us anything. We deserved to win last week. We deserved it today because we created more chances than Gotham. But we don’t want to stay here. We want to keep moving forward.”
The second-seeded Spirit overcame early pressure from third-seeded Gotham, including González’s shot hitting the crossbar in the first minute, and then ramped up the pressure on the visiting team.
However, Gonzalez entered the game first for Gotham, and Gonzalez’s goal in the 56th minute was Gotham’s first shot in 47 minutes.
Gotham midfielder Yazmeen Ryan got on the ball on the right side and passed inside to midfielder Rose Lavelle, who dribbled a little and put a no-look pass behind the Spirit defense and continued her run. I put a pass into Ryan’s path. Ryan collected the ball on the end line and crossed to the penalty spot, where the free González adjusted and headed the ball back at the near post.
LaBelle nearly doubled the lead 13 minutes later when he blocked a slow clearance attempt by Spirit goalie Kingsbury near Washington’s 6-yard box, but the ball went just wide of the goal. I deviated.
Washington, led by American star and MVP finalist Trinity Rodman, continued to attack throughout the second half, eventually scoring the tying goal in stoppage time.
Gotham substitute fullback Jenna Neiswonger fouled Washington defender Tara McCune in front of the box, resulting in a dangerous free kick. Spirit substitute Makenna Morris hit a free kick directly into the head of fellow rookie Hirschfeld, scoring the equalizer three minutes into second-half stoppage time.
Three minutes later, Morris came forward and dribbled a corner kick, an area in which the Spirit struggled throughout the day, which again hit Hirschfeld in the head, but her header went just over the bar. I crossed it.
Gotham played most of the extra period without a man, as defenseman Bruninha, who entered the game in the 65th minute, received a second yellow card and was ejected for a professional foul on Rodman in front of the Spirit bench. I was put down and played. Rodman looked at Bruninha and raised his hand to mimic a card being shown before Rodman exchanged words with Gotham defender and USWNT teammate Emily Sonnett. Rodman also received a yellow card.
Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amoros said he didn’t want to say anything negative about the referees, but pointed out that Bruninha was shown two yellow cards for two fouls. By the time Bruninha was sent off, Gotham had already used all available players.
“We had a specific plan,” Amoros said of how the team would adjust. “I think it worked very well. How we wanted to attack, how we wanted to defend. We limited their chances, so they could have put pressure on us. “No, but we limited our chances. And in the end we made two really good shots. “We have a chance to win. ”
After Gotham was reduced to ten players, each team had a clear chance to win the game.
Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger tipped Spirit forward Ashley Hatch’s shot over the bar just before the overtime break, and in the 115th minute, Esther headed in a corner kick from Nicewonger. I almost scored the second goal. Kingsbury dove to his right and pushed the shot wide of the frame.
Kingsbury then stepped up and saved all three of Gotham’s shots in the shootout, first by González, then by midfielder McCall Zerboni, and then by Neiswonger. Hatch, Lena Silano and McCune scored penalties for the Spirit.
“She’s amazing,” Giraldes said of Kingsbury. “It’s not because of the penalty. It’s because she’s a professional in that she goes to training sessions every day. It’s crazy. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
This was the second penalty shootout in NWSL playoff history. Washington last lost to the Western New York Flash (now North Carolina Courage) in the 2016 NWSL Championship.
The Spirit are seeking their second NWSL championship after winning the title in 2021 with then-rookie Rodman assisting Kelly O’Hara on the trophy-winning goal.
Washington won that trophy, but the players publicly protested former owner Steve Baldwin for allowing a toxic culture at the club.
“Honestly, I feel the same way I did in ’21. It felt like destiny,” Kingsbury said. “And I would say the same thing. Of course we don’t have the media buzz and the chaotic energy around us like we did in ’21, but on the flip side, it’s all positive.”
