(If you want to skip the intro, please go to the sentence in bold for the game recap.)
With the kids
away at camp, I have some time to do things I've wanted to do for months if not
years. I'm taking walks nearly every evening, trying to play more pickleball,
and catching up on TV. (The Pitt is really good!). The one thing I've wanted to
do most is to cover a live sporting event again. While I covered a men's George Mason basketball game this winter, I wanted to cover a professional sports team, and
the team I was most intrigued about was the Washington Spirit since they
are arguably the most successful Washington professional sports team over the
last 5-6 years. Actually, not at all arguably. The team won the NWSL
Championship in 2021 and reached the finals in both 2024 and 2025. With a win
on Sunday against the Denver Summit, the team would pass Gotham FC to move into
first place. Gotham defeated the Spirit 1-0 almost two weeks ago in a
match where the Spirit had more shots on goal (9-4) and a higher number of
expected goals. It wouldn't be a surprise to see them face each other deep
in the playoffs this fall.
I applied for
media credentials to the Spirit-Summit match and was
accepted. Although I'm a big soccer fan, played through my
entire childhood, coached my kids' teams, and have been a soccer referee for
decades, I don't follow the Spirit as much as I'd like. While I did some
research on the team prior to the game, I thought I would ask on BlueSky if
anyone had any suggestions on things to look out for. This was the actual post:
I have media
credentials to cover the Washington Spirit-Denver Summit match tonight. Besides
Trinity Rodman & the fact that the Spirit will move into first place if
they win, I know just a little about the match. Does anyone have any
information about either team or players that might be useful?
Though poorly
worded and being a little self-deprecating (not that anyone would know
that by reading it and not knowing me), I figured I might get a few
comments from friends. Maybe I would get some responses about a certain player
playing well lately or someone else losing playing time. Maybe some thoughts
about Sandy MacIver taking over the keeper role this season for Aubrey
Kingsbury who is on maternity leave (and just had a baby a few weeks ago.
Congrats!).
It didn't work
out that way. My post was picked up by Spirit fans who (rightfully) blasted me.
Who was I to get credentials? Did I take a spot from someone who deserved it
more? Several WTF replies, and not why the face. And I get it. It was never my intention to take
someone's spot (and it doesn’t seem like I did). My goal was and is to write a
post for casual soccer fans who may not have attended a Spirit match. There are
other fantastic sites and podcasts that cover the Spirit and describe and
discuss match previews and recaps as well as the day-to-day activities of the
team. (I've highlighted a few at the end of this post.) That's not me, and I
don't expect the team's biggest fans to read this blog for that. With that
written, I needed to share writing samples as part of the media credentials
application, and those that I included were soccer specific. Although I haven't
written about the Spirit (well, the Washington Spirit as I have written about the Pittsburgh Spirit), it's not like the recent men's World Cup was my introduction
to soccer. So despite several comments of go home or stay home (usually with
the "F" word thrown in), off I went…
Only to
discover that the game ended and the stadium was not letting people in!
I’m kidding. I
know that this is where Noah Kahan performs.
Outside the
stadium, I saw the Washington Spirit mobile. Cool vehicle but why a Virginia
license plate?
I found my way
to the media entrance, got my credentials, and was directed to go up the
stairs. Not the most glamorous welcome to Audi Field. (I should note that this
wasn’t my first time to Audi Field, but it was my first time seeing this gloomy
staircase. It was dark at the top.)
After settling
in, I went back down the stairs to the concourse and walked around and grabbed
some food. I would not recommend the pizza which was overpriced for its size
and average at best. Try another option. And because many of my posts come back
to Pittsburgh, of course I introduced myself to a guy wearing a Pirates hat and
this T-shirt.
Okay, let's get to the match itself:
* Leicy Santos, who has become a star for the Spirit this season, didn't start though she
entered in the 57th minute to a loud cheer. She brought a huge spark to the team., and it was not at all a coincidence that the Spirit
scored minutes after she came on.
* Lindsey Heaps,
the US national team captain, played in her second match of the season for
Denver after her return from playing in France the last few seasons. She
was everywhere in the midfield and attacking end coming close to scoring on a header in the second half. If you're familiar with the
Roy Kent chant from Ted Lasso, you can substitute her name here. I won’t write
it since I don’t typically swear on this blog, but the BlueSky commenters definitely know
the word in the chant! (Video NSFW)
* Trinity Rodman
is so much fun to watch. Not exactly breaking news here. There’s so much
energy from the crowd whenever Rodman gets the ball. In the second half alone, she drew three yellow cards and had a great pass on the goal by Sofia Cantore
who cut the ball back and shot it just outside the 18 off the crossbar.
* The attendance
was 15,169. I feel like I got insider information when this was announced
in the media room during the second half.
* As a referee, I
always watch how the professional refs call games and their positioning. I
appreciate that even at the highest level, the assistant referees check the
goals before the match. This is something I always do as a ref or ask my
assistant referees to do when I’m a center.
Overall, I
think the crew did a good job. The first foul wasn’t called until the 17th
minute but nothing was really warranted. All three yellow cards on the Summit
were deserved. I thought that a penalty called against the Spirit was correct
in real time as it seemed as though Rebeca Bernal fell into Heaps. VAR was
quite useful in this case. From my last post, the Enya fan who also likes VAR
was probably happy!
* Right before the final whistle, Santos got hit by an elbow by a Denver player
in the box. While I understand the referee wanting to end the game, this was
absolutely a foul and should have been a card.
* Denver made
things very exciting during the second half stoppage time. Several outstanding chances from close range
including a shot off the crossbar. Many neutral fans probably believe that the
Summit deserved a point from this match. I guess Denver didn't quite reach the
peak or a word similar to that.
* Although she didn't play, Washington striker Gift Monday may have the best name in sports. Denver’s Ayo Oke, if pronounced slightly differently, would be outstanding too.
I
highly recommend attending a Spirit match at Audi Field. Fun and welcoming
environment (at least in person) and a really quality team. Just skip the
pizza. The Spirit are now at the top of the NWSL standings and lead the league
in goal differential. Oh, for the folks at Blogging for Gingers / Gingers for Hershfelt, here is a picture of the media surrounding Hal after the match.
Here are the complete highlights of the match including Cantore's goal, the VAR decision, and the elbow to end the match.
For more about the match and to follow the Spirit, check out some of the sites below. I know that I'm missing some.
- Hey Spirits! on BlueSky and via podcasts
- Spirit Squadron on BlueSky
- Riss Willett on BlueSky
All photos by me except for the starting 11 by the Washington Spirit and of Baby Kingsbury by Aubrey Kingsbury.
Posts
2 comments:
I assume the team van has Virginia plates because the team's offices are in Ashburn. (A friend's daughter studied in sports management. She grew up in Germantown and interned for the Spirit when their offices were at/near the Soccerplex. Super close to her parents and childhood home. Then she graduated and was offered a paid position. But the team had moved to Virginia. And her parents were very sad.)
That makes sense. Sorry for your friend's daughter though. Ashburn to Germantown is a hike!
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