May 12, 2023 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Washington Spirit News Release
Los Angeles, Calif. – The Washington Spirit will face Angel City FC on Saturday night in both sides’ seventh match of the regular season. The match kicks off at 10 p.m. EDT at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California and will broadcast nationally on Paramount+ for fans across the United States. International viewers can stream the match on NWSLSoccer.com as well.
The Spirit
Unbeaten through six games to start the regular season, the Spirit is off to the club’s longest unbeaten streak to start a season. Most recently, the Spirit defeated the Orlando Pride 4-2 in a Challenge Cup match on Wednesday. The result trampolined the Spirit to second in the East Division table of the 2023 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup. In that match, the Spirit became the first team in NWSL history (any competition) to record four goals from outside of the box – Lena Silano (33′), Sam Staab (38′), Marissa Sheva (42′) and Ashley Sanchez (90+4′).
The 4-2 decision over the Pride marked the Spirit’s second consecutive victory by a two-goal margin within a four-day window. Last Saturday, the Spirit defeated San Diego Wave FC 3-1 during a nationally televised match on CBS. In those two matches, six different Spirit players accounted for the team’s seven total goals. Trinity Rodman, who scored first against San Diego, became the first player in NWSL history to score ten goals and ten assists before turning 21 years old. Additionally, in those games, Paige Metayer, Silano and Sheva all scored their first career NWSL goals.
The Spirit owns a 1-0-2 record on the road this season, defeating only North Carolina. The two draws came against Louisville and Chicago and, in both instances, the Spirit more than doubled the opposition’s expected goal value but couldn’t execute on great scoring chances.
To this end, the Spirit is second in the NWSL this season with a cumulative expected goal value of 6.27 during road matches. The team also ranks first in the NWSL with a total of eight big chances on the road.
Forward Ashley Hatch remains tied for the Golden Boot lead with esteemed company from around the League – Debhina (KC), Crystal Dunn (POR), Alex Morgan (SD), Sophia Smith (POR) and Lynn Williams (NJ/NY).
Following Wednesday’s match, the Spirit will face the Orlando Pride for the second time in ten days, this time in a regular season bout on the road at 7 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 20.
The Opposition
Angel City FC most…