Recap: Spirit Extends Unbeaten Streak to Nine with 2-2 Draw Against Angel City

Los Angeles, Calif. (09/18/2025) – The Washington Spirit extended its unbeaten streak to nine matches with a 2-2 draw against Angel City FC on the road Thursday night. Star sophomore Croix Bethune delivered an equalizer in the second half to help the Spirit save a point. 

Washington got on the scoresheet quickly when star forward Trinity Rodman drew a penalty in the eighth minute of action. After a VAR review, Rodman stepped up to take the attempt and, after having her initial shot saved, buried the rebound for the 1-0 lead. 

Just two minutes later, however, Angel City would respond. Defender Gisele Thompson made a move toward the end line and sent a cross backward into the six-yard box for fellow defender Evelyn Shores who found the back of the net to equalize. 

The match would pause for about ten minutes in the middle of the first half after Spirit midfielder Deborah Abiodun took a cleat to the face and had to receive treatment from the team’s medical staff on the field. Shortly after play resumed, both Bethune and Narumi Miura made strong attempts at retaking the lead for Washington. In the 33rd minute, Bethune received a ball from Leicy Santos and fired a shot just wide of the frame. Five minutes later, Narumi took a long-range shot from outside the box that curved and bounced squarely off the front of the post. 

Defender Tara McKeown, making her 100th career regular season appearance Thursday night, was a key part of the Spirit defending third throughout the first half. McKeown made several chase down stops of Angel City attacking chances and was integral in preventing Angel City shots on target. 

Coming out of halftime still deadlocked at one goal apiece, the Spirit kept its foot on the gas. In the 51st minute, forward Rosemonde Kouassi fielded a blocked shot in the box with a volley shot of her own but was saved by Angel City keeper Angelina Anderson. Four minutes later, however, Angel City took the lead when a cross attempt from the home side was deflected into the net by McKeown for an own goal. 

Forward Sofia Cantore entered the match for Narumi in the 67th minute and, just four minutes later, the Spirit found an equalizer. Santos delivered a cross into the box and a leaping Bethune connected with her head and beat Anderson to bring Washington level with its second goal. 

In the 87th minute, forward Gift Monday entered the match for Abiodun as the Spirit looked for a game-winner in the attacking third. Cantore continued to find herself open with the ball and made multiple attempts of her own in the match’s closing minutes. Most notably, in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Bethune made a run toward the end line and cut back hard, losing two defenders in the process. The reigning Midfielder of the Year sent a cross into the box for Cantore who connected with a header but was saved by a diving Anderson. 

As the final minutes of stoppage time expired, neither Washington nor Angel City was able to break the deadlock and both sides took a point on the table with just five matches remaining in the regular season. Due to the draw, the Spirit will be unable to clinch a playoff berth this weekend and will turn to next weekend’s home match.

Next up, the Spirit will return home to host the Houston Dash at Audi Field on Sunday, September 28. Kicking off at 1 p.m. EDT, the match will be Washington’s annual Hispanic Heritage celebration. Tickets are available here. 

 

-NWSL Match Report- 

Match: Angel City FC vs. Washington Spirit 

Date: Thursday, September 18, 2025 

Venue: BMO Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.) 

Kickoff: 10:30 p.m. EDT 

Weather: Partly cloudy, mid-70s 

 

Scoring Summary: 

Goals	1	2	F
Angel City	1	1	2
Washington	1	1	2

WAS – Trinity Rodman – 12′ 

LA – Evelyn Shores – 14′ (assisted by Gisele Thompson) 

LA – Tara McKeown – 55′ (OG) 

WAS – Croix Bethune – 71’ (assisted by Leicy Santos) 

 

Lineups: 

LA: 19 – Angelina Anderson; 29 – Miyabi Moriya; 30 – Sara Doorsoun; 11 – Sarah Gorden; 20 – Gisele Thompson (99 – Madison Hammond, 68’); 15 – Evelyn Shores; 12 – Maiara Niehues (8 – Macey Hodge, 79’); 14 – Nealy Martin; 18 – Jun Endō (17 – Kennedy Fuller, 46’); 33 – Riley Tiernan; 32 – Sveindís Jónsdóttir 

Unused Substitutes: 1 – Hannah Stambaugh; 13 – Hannah Seabert; 5 – Ali Riley; 44 – Elizabeth Eddy 

WAS: 1 – Aubrey Kingsbury; 6 – Kate Wiesner (26 – Paige Metayer, 46’); 24 – Esme Morgan; 20 – Deborah Abiodun (21 – Gift Monday, 88’); 9 – Tara McKeown; 14 – Gabby Carle; 10 – Leicy Santos; 5 – Narumi Miura (27 – Sofia Cantore, 67’); 7 – Croix Bethune; 19 – Rosemonde Kouassi; 2 – Trinity Rodman 

Unused Substitutes: 28 – Sandy MacIver; 13 – Brittany Ratcliffe; 16 – Courtney Brown; 22 – Heather Stainbrook; 25 – Kysha Sylla; 39 – Chloe Ricketts 

 

Stats Summary: LA / WAS 

Shots: 9 / 21 

Shots On Goal: 1 / 10 

Saves: 8 / 0 

Fouls: 12 / 11 

Offsides: 1 / 2 

 

Misconduct Summary: 

WAS – Bench – 34’ – Yellow Card 

LA – Sveindís Jónsdóttir – 52’ – Yellow Card 

LA – Sarah Gorden – 84’ – Yellow Card 

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