June 14, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
Washington Spirit News Release
Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman
(Washington Spirit)
Washington, D.C. – The Washington Spirit will face San Diego Wave FC to wrap up its first half of the 2024 NWSL regular season Saturday night. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. EDT at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. and will be broadcast nationally on ION. Fans can also listen to the team’s first-ever local radio broadcast on WashingtonSpirit.com or the ESPN 630 AM website or app.
The Spirit
Riding its second four-game win streak of the season and establishing club records in wins (9) and points (27) through 12 matches, the Spirit is looking to capitalize on its red-hot momentum. Last match, the Spirit triumphed over Utah Royals FC, 1-0, with Kate Wiesner the lone goal scorer. The goal marked Wiesner’s first career NWSL goal. Three of the Spirit’s four first round picks in the 2024 NWSL Draft have scored this season.
Aubrey Kingsbury came up big as well, securing the Spirit’s second clean sheet of the season and the 30th of her Spirit tenure. Kingsbury is now the fifth player in NWSL history to reach this milestone with a single club.
Saturday’s match is the first meeting between the Spirit and San Diego Wave FC this season. When playing the Wave at Audi Field, the Spirit is a perfect 2-0-0. The first was an epic 4-3 showdown, including an Ashley Hatch game-winning goal in the 100th minute. Last season, the Spirit routed the Wave to the tune of 3-1, one of which was Paige Metayer’s first career goal.
Fans should expect a high-intensity match on Saturday: there have been no clean sheets in the four all-time meetings between the Wave and Spirit with the matches having a combined 18 goals scored in them. The 4.5 combined goals per match is the highest of any fixture in NWSL history with more than one game played.
The stakes are certainly high this weekend. The Spirit leads the NWSL with nine wins and is one of three teams to ever earn three points in at least nine of its first 12 matches of a season, joining Seattle Reign FC (2014) and North Carolina Courage (2018). A key to maintaining this success throughout the 2024 season has been securing early leads. The Spirit has won or tied in 26 straight matches (19-0-7) when leading at halftime, and the team’s 17 first half strikes are the most of any team in the NWSL.
Next up, the Spirit head north to take on NJ/NY Gotham FC in a highly anticipated match. The Sunday…