Recap: Spirit returning home with a point after 1-1 draw in San Diego

San Diego, Calif. (09/01/2024) – The Washington Spirit will return home to DC with a point after Sunday night’s 1-1 draw with San Diego Wave FC at Snapdragon Stadium. The tie marks the third consecutive deadlock in the series between the sides. 

Much of the opening third of the match featured stout defensive play by both sides with Spirit midfielder Paige Metayer blocking multiple Wave FC shots and the Spirit’s attacking third having difficulty breaking through in the box. In the 20th minute, forward Trinity Rodman executed her well-known ‘Trin Spin’ near midfield to spur on an attacking try for Washington that nearly resulted in a score but fellow forward Rosemonde Kouassi was ruled offside. 

In the 24th minute, forward Ouleye Sarr took a shot on goal that was saved by Wave FC goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan. Just three minutes later, Kouassi found midfielder Leicy Santos open at the top of the box with a cross that Santos fired off the crossbar. In the 30th, the Spirit broke through by way of a San Diego own goal. Sarr delivered a cross from near the endline back into the six-yard box that went off Wave FC defender Kristen McNabb and into the back of the net. The goal was the 37th of the 2024 regular season for the Spirit, a new single season club record. 

Coming out of halftime with the 1-0 lead, the Spirit kept pressing on offense. In the 50th minute, Metayer sent a cross into the box that Rodman headed just wide of the frame. 

In the 68th minute, San Diego found an equalizer: McNabb, who was credited with the first-half own goal, found the back of the net for the Wave after a corner kick. The Spirit almost had an answer of its own four minutes later when Santos sent a header toward the upper left corner of the goal but Sheridan made a highlight save, tipping the ball out for a corner kick. 

In the final minutes of the match, both Washington and San Diego had several solid attacking chances. Substitutes Makenna Morris and Courtney Brown provided energy off the bench but the Wave FC defending third continued to block shots in the box, thwarting the Spirit attack. 

After nearly 11 minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle blew, sending both sides home with a point. Both matches in the 2024 season series between Washington and San Diego resulted in 1-1 draws, the Spirit’s only two draws of the year so far. 

Next up, the Spirit returns home to DC for a matchup with Sophia Smith and Portland Thorns FC on Saturday, September 7. Kicking off at 12:30 p.m. EDT at Audi Field, the match will feature a celebration of the Spirit’s 2024 Olympic gold medalists. 

 

-NWSL Match Report- 

Match: San Diego Wave FC vs. Washington Spirit 

Date: Sunday, September 1, 2024 

Venue: Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego, Calif.) 

Kickoff: 8 p.m. EDT  

Weather: Sunny, mid-70s 

Scoring Summary: 

 

Goals	1	2	F
San Diego	0	1	1
Washington	1	0	1

 

WAS – Kristen McNabb – 30’ (OG) 

SD – Kristen McNabb – 68’ 

 

Lineups: 

SD:  1 – Kailen Sheridan; 14 – Kristen McNabb; 4 – Naomi Girma; 12 – Kennedy Wesley; 6 – Hanna Lundkvist (20 – Christen Westphal, 62’); 15 – Makenzy Doniak; 77 – María Sánchez (18 – Mya Jones, 90’); 5 – Emily van Egmond; 69 – Delphine Cascarino (23 – Elyse Bennett, 90’); 13 – Alex Morgan (7 – Amirah Ali, 70’); 25 – Melanie Barcenas (10 – Sofia Jakobsson, 70’) 

 

Unused Substitutes: 17 – Kimmi Ascanio; 22 – Hillary Beall; 24 – Danny Colaprico; 35 – Morgan Messner 

 

WAS:  1 – Aubrey Kingsbury; 3 – Casey Krueger (14 – Gabby Carle, 79’); 9 – Tara McKeown; 5 – Annaïg Butel; 26 – Paige Metayer; 10 – Leicy Santos; 12 – Andi Sullivan; 17 – Hal Hershfelt (16 – Courtney Brown, 79’); 19 – Rosemonde Kouassi (8 – Makenna Morris, 62’); 11 – Ouleye Sarr; 2 – Trinity Rodman 

 

Unused Substitutes: 28 – Nicole Barnhart; 33 – Ashley Hatch; 24 – Esme Morgan; 13 – Brittany Ratcliffe; 4 – Lena Silano; 22 – Heather Stainbrook 

 

Stats Summary: SD / WAS 

Shots:  8 / 18 

Shots On Goal: 2 / 4 

Saves: 4 / 1 

Fouls: 8 / 10 

Offsides: 0 / 3 

 

Misconduct Summary: 

None 

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