Recap: Spirit Battles to Scoreless Draw in W Champions Cup Bout with Rival Gotham FC

Chester, Pa. (10/01/2025) – The Washington Spirit drew rival Gotham FC in a scoreless Concacaf W Champions Cup group stage match Wednesday night. With the point, the Spirit moves to 2-0-1 (7 points) and can win Group B with a victory in its final group stage match in two weeks. 

Throughout the opening 20 minutes of play, both sides settled in, jockeying for control of possession. In the 24th minute, the Spirit put together its best attacking chance to that point when midfielder Heather Stainbrook ran a give-and-go with defender Kate Wiesner off a short corner kick and dished the ball into the box for an open teammate but was called offside. 

Three minutes later, forward Gift Monday received a through ball in the box from Wiesner and fired a shot on target that was saved by Gotham goalkeeper Shelby Hogan. Both sides would each have another strong attacking chance before halftime. In the 43rd minute, the Spirit turned a combination play between Tara McKeown, Sofia Cantore, Heather Stainbrook and Brittany Ratcliffe with Ratcliffe firing a shot on target that was saved. 

In the third minute of first half stoppage time, Spirit goalkeeper Sandy MacIver made a spectacular save to keep the match level. Gotham forward Katie Stengel found herself open with the ball in the box and fired a shot on goal but MacIver was able to make the stop and prevent a rebound opportunity. 

To start the second half, midfielder Deborah Abiodun and defender Esme Morgan entered the match, replacing defenders Gabby Carle and Tara McKeown, respectively. The opening ten minutes of the half featured several near goals from both sides. In the 48th minute, MacIver saved another close-range shot from Stengel. Two minutes later, Gift Monday flicked a ball to Cantore who fired a one-timer on target that was also saved. 

In the 55th minute, Gotham nearly broke the deadlock when Josie Hasbo sent a shot off the post. Sarah Schupansky received the rebound in the center of the box and attemped a backheel shot from close range but Esme Morgan was able to clear it. 

Defender Rebeca Bernal and midfielders Leicy Santos and Croix Bethune entered the match for the Spirit later in the half to help close out the contest for the visitors. Gotham stars Jaedyn Shaw, Emily Sonnett, Rose Lavelle and Midge Purce all subbed on late in the match as well as each side looked for a winner. Despite the changes, the match ended with the same scoreline it started with and both sides left with a point. 

Goalkeeper Sandy MacIver recorded her third consecutive clean sheet with a three-save performance. MacIver has yet to concede a goal in W Champions Cup play. The Spirit will wrap up group play with a home match against CF Monterrey Femenil on Wednesday, October 15 at Audi Field. 

The Spirit will return home this weekend for its annual Fan Appreciation match at Audi Field on Sunday, October 5. Kicking off at 1 p.m. EDT, Washington will return to regular season play, taking on San Diego Wave FC with a chance to clinch a top four seed and home quarterfinal match in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs. Tickets are available here. 

 

-Concacaf W Champions Cup Match Report- 

Match: Gotham FC vs. Washington Spirit 

Date: Wednesday, October 1, 2025 

Venue: Subaru Park (Chester, Pa.) 

Kickoff: 7 p.m. EDT 

Weather: Clear, mid-60s 

 

Scoring Summary: 

Goals	1	2	F
Gotham	0	0	0
Washington	0	0	0

 

Lineups: 

GFC: 1 – Shelby Hogan; 4 – Lilly Reale; 27 – Jess Carter (6 – Emily Sonnett, 67’); 19 – Kayla Duran; 22 – Mandy Freeman (3 – Bruninha, 66’); 5 – Josie Hasbo; 7 – Jaelin Howell; 34 – Khyah Harper (2 – Jaedyn Shaw, 66’); 11 – Sarah Schupansky; 28 – Katie Stengel (23 – Midge Purce, 79’); 21 – Sofia Cook (16 – Rose Lavelle, 79’) 

Unused Substitutes: 12 – Ryan Campbell; 30 – Ann-Katrin Berger; 17 – Mak Whitham 

WAS: 28 – Sandy MacIver; 6 – Kate Wiesner; 9 – Tara McKeown (24 – Esme Morgan, 46’); 25 – Kysha Sylla (4 – Rebeca Bernal, 62’); 14 – Gabby Carle (20 – Deborah Abiodun, 46’); 22 – Heather Stainbrook; 17 – Hal Hershfelt (10 – Leicy Santos, 62’); 5 – Narumi Miura; 27 – Sofia Cantore; 21 – Gift Monday (7 – Croix Bethune, 70’); 13 – Brittany Ratcliffe 

Unused Substitutes: 1 – Aubrey Kingsbury; 31 – Kaylie Collins; 2 – Trinity Rodman; 19 – Rosemonde Kouassi 

 

Stats Summary: GFC / WAS 

Shots: 12 / 8 

Shots On Goal: 4 / 3 

Saves: 3 / 3 

Fouls: 6 / 6 

Offsides: 4 / 4 

 

Misconduct Summary: 

None 

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