Recap: Washington Spirit falls just short of a second NWSL title
Kansas City, Mo. (11/23/2024) – The No. 2 seeded Washington Spirit lost to the No. 1 Orlando Pride, 0-1, in the 2024 NWSL Championship on Saturday night at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, MO.
The Spirit entered its third-ever NWSL Championship final with a new starting lineup. The primary change came in the form of rookie Makenna Morris joining her fellow Clemson Tiger teammate Hal Hershfelt in the midfield. Paige Metayer remained at the right back position after starting in that role in last week’s semifinal against Gotham FC. Additionally, with the start, Trinity Rodman became the first player to play in two NWSL Championship matches before turning 24 years old.
Both sides started off strong with time spent in each other’s boxes and one corner a piece. It wasn’t until the 15th minute when Orlando’s Marta logged the first shot on goal of the match.
In the 28th minute, Rosemonde Kouassi received the first yellow card of the match after bringing down Barbra Banda around the center of the pitch. The Pride’s offense through the first 30 minutes filtered almost exclusively through Banda. Shortly after Kouassi’s yellow, Orlando defender Kerry Abello picked up a nearly identical yellow card infraction after downing Rodman.
The Pride broke the draw in the 37th minute when Banda netted her NWSL Playoff record fourth goal this postseason. Spirit fans at CPKC lamented what was seemingly a foul before Angelina found a streaking Banda, who snuck a ball into the bottom left corner of the goal. With the goal, the Spirit conceded its first goal in the last five NWSL Playoff matches – it has won all four entering the match.
Hershfelt picked up the team’s second yellow card, her first, in the 42nd minute. Moments later, the Spirit’s second corner nearly yielded an equalizer when Ashley Hatch headed the ball off the woodwork.
The Spirit shot out of the gates to start the second half, issuing two dangerous headers inside the six-yard box that nearly found the back of the net. In the early moments of the second half Metayer picked up the Spirit’s third yellow card, her first of the match in the 50th minute. Gabby Carle replaced Metayer in the 60th minute on the defensive line.
The Spirit controlled possession for much of the next ten minutes but was unable to capitalize. In the 70th minute, Banda collided with Tara McKeown resulting in a yellow card for Banda.
The front line continued to create multiple chances on the Orlando side of the pitch well into the final minutes of the match. The Spirit recorded ten shots in the second half compared to the Pride’s four.
This match ended the Spirit’s remarkable 2024 campaign, which included a club record 19 wins.
-NWSL Match Report-
Match: Orlando Pride vs. Washington Spirit
Date: Saturday, November 23, 2024
Venue: CPKC Stadium (Kansas City, Missouri)
Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. EST
Weather: Partly cloudy, low-50s
Scoring Summary:
| Goals | 1 | 2 | F |
| Orlando | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 |
ORL – Barbra Banda – 37’ (assisted by Angelina)
Lineups:
ORL: 1 – Anna Moorhouse; 25 – Kerry Abello (19 – Carson Pickett, 86’); 3 – Kylie Strom; 6 – Emily Sams; 31 – Cori Dyke; 9 – Adriana (28 – Summer Yates, 66’); 2 – Haley McCutcheon; 15 – Angelina (16 – Morgan Gautrat, 86’); 11 – Ally Watt (20 – Julie Doyle, 74’); 22 – Barbra Banda; 10 – Marta
Unused Substitutes: 13 – Celia; 40 – McKinley Crone; 12 – Carrie Lawrence; 30 – Ally Lemos; 14 – Viviana Villacorta
WAS: 1 – Aubrey Kingsbury; 3 – Casey Krueger; 24 – Esme Morgan; 9 – Tara McKeown; 26 – Paige Metayer (14 – Gabby Carle, 60); 8 – Makenna Morris (4 – Lena Silano, 73’); 10 – Leicy Santos; 17 – Hal Hershfelt; 19 – Rosemonde Kouassi; 33 – Ashley Hatch; 2 – Trinity Rodman
Unused Substitutes: 28 – Nicole Barnhart; 16 – Courtney Brown; 5 – Annaïg Butel; 13 – Brittany Ratcliffe; 39 – Chloe Ricketts; 22 – Heather Stainbrook; 6 – Kate Wiesner
Stats Summary: ORL / WAS
Shots: 26 / 9
Shots On Goal: 5 / 3
Saves: 2 / 5
Fouls: 16 / 11
Offsides: 1 / 0
Misconduct Summary:
WAS – Rosemonde Kouassi – 28’ – Yellow Card
ORL – Kerry Abello – 31’ – Yellow Card
WAS – Hal Hershfelt – 42’ – Yellow Card
WAS – Paige Metayer – 50’ – Yellow Card
ORL – Barbra Banda – 70’ – Yellow Card
WAS – Gabby Carle – 90+7’ – Yellow Card
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