Recap: Spirit Extends its Club Road Win-Streak Record with a 3-0 Thumping at Bay FC
Washington, D.C. (07/06/2024) – The Spirit defeated Bay FC, 3-0, in a resounding performance heading into the league-wide players’ week off.
Kicking off the match, the Spirit set the tone with two changes in the Starting XI. Rookie Makenna Morris replaced fellow rookie Courtney Brown on the wing, marking her first career NWSL start. Meanwhile, Andi Sullivan returned to the lineup after missing two of the previous three matches.
Morris’s imparted her impact on the match almost immediately and in a truly seismic fashion. Only three minutes and 52 seconds into the match, Morris buried her first career NWSL goal. This became the fastest Spirit goal of the 2024 season.
FIRST START AND FIRST GOAL FOR MAKENNA
— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) July 7, 2024
All five 2024 NWSL Draft selections on the Spirit roster this season have scored at least one goal – the most rookies to score a goal in a season in Spirit history. The Spirit leads the NWSL with ten goals scored by rookies and five different rookie goal scorers. The goal was a seemingly crucial one as entering the match, the Spirit held an 8-0-0 record when scoring first this season.
Morris continued her strong performance with two more chances in the first 15 minutes of action. She logged four shots in that time, all of which were dangerous attempts at the Bay FC goal. Culminating her effect early in the match, Morris drew a penalty following a strong run into the Bay FC box.
Trinity Rodman netted the penalty, doubling the Spirit lead. The goal – Rodman’s first career penalty kick – was her fifth of the season.
Cool, calm, and collected
— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) July 7, 2024
Entering the match, Bay FC had not given up multiple goals since May 24, let alone two in the first half. The Spirit’s 20 first half goals are the most of any team in the NWSL this season. The last time the Spirit failed to convert a penalty kick came in July of 2022.
The first 25 minutes of the match was pure Spirit dominance. In that time, the Spirit logged nine shots (three on target), seven shots in the opponent’s box and over 60% possession. Bay FC had zero shots or touches in the Spirit box during that time. The Spirit held onto this momentum into halftime as the scoreline remained 2-0 after 45 minutes of action.
Though, in the 57th minute, Ouleye Sarr added to the Spirit lead. After four matches without a goal, Sarr put one away to extend her team high to seven goals on the season. She becomes the first Spirit player other than Ashley Hatch to score seven or more goals in a single regular season with the club since 2015.
WE LOVE A OULEYE SARR GOAL pic.twitter.com/n6xzWOi5O1
— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) July 7, 2024
Also, Morris was credited with the assist on Sarr’s goal. She becomes the first Spirit player in team history to record a goal, an assist and a drawn penalty in a single match.
Teams jockeyed back-and-forth for the remainder of the second half without much ado, leaving the Spirit with a 3-0 shutout victory. The victory marks goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury’s fourth clean sheet of the season and extends the Spirit’s club record to 28 straight matches unbeaten (21-0-7) when leading at half.
Next up, the NWSL will be on its annual player break from July 8 through July 14. Following the week off, the Spirit will return to action with the inaugural NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup, taking on Chivas de Guadalajara on Sunday, July 21 at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania.
-NWSL Match Report-
Match: Bay FC vs. Washington Spirit
Date: Saturday, July 6, 2024
Venue: PayPal Park (San Jose, Calif.)
Kickoff: 10 p.m. EDT
Weather: Sunny, mid-80s
Scoring Summary:
| Goals | 1 | 2 | F |
| Bay FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Washington | 2 | 1 | 3 |
WAS – Makenna Morris – 4’
WAS – Trinity Rodman – 21’ (PK)
WAS – Ouleye Sarr – 57’ (assisted by Makenna Morris)
Lineups:
BAY: 0 – Katelyn Rowland; 20 – Alyssa Malonson (3 – Caprice Dydasco, 67); 27 – Kayla Sharples; 4 – Emily Menges; 2 – Savy King; 19 – Dorian Bailey; 23 – Kiki Pickett; 10 – Deyna Castellanos (12 – Tess Boade, 67’); 21 – Rachel Hill; 9 – Racheal Kundananji; 8 – Asisat Oshoala (7 – Princess, 72’)
Unused Substitutes: 5 – Jen Beattie; 16 – Jordan Brewster; 15 – Caroline Conti; 24 – Maddie Moreau; 44 – Lysianne Proulx; 14 – Jamie Shepherd
WAS: 1 – Aubrey Kingsbury; 3 – Casey Krueger; 5 – Annaïg Butel; 9 – Tara McKeown; 14 – Gabby Carle; 17 – Hal Hershfelt; 12 – Andi Sullivan (26 – Paige Metayer, 60’); 7 – Croix Bethune (22 – Heather Stainbrook, 78’); 2 – Trinity Rodman (13 – Brittany Ratcliffe, 89’); 11 – Ouleye Sarr (33 – Ashley Hatch, 60’); 8 – Makenna Morris (16 – Courtney Brown, 60’)
Unused Substitutes: 28 – Nicole Barnhart; 39 – Chloe Ricketts; 4 – Lena Silano; 6 – Kate Wiesner
Stats Summary: BAY / WAS
Shots: 19 / 16
Shots On Goal: 5 / 5
Saves: 1 / 5
Tackles Won: 18 / 9
Fouls: 13 / 5
Offsides: 2 / 0
Misconduct Summary:
BAY – Katelyn Rowland – 3’ – Yellow Card
BAY – Kayla Sharples – 81’ – Yellow Card
WAS – Gabby Carle – 83’ – Yellow Card
The post Recap: Spirit Extends its Club Road Win-Streak Record with a 3-0 Thumping at Bay FC appeared first on Washington Spirit.