In The Face Of Adversity The Washington Spirit Defeat The Courage 1-0

Today was the first time since 2016 that the Washington Spirit hosted a postseason game. With

everything this team has had to face dealing with now fired head coach Richie Burke abusive

and racial comments towards the players, reports of a hostile work environment, fans began

protesting in the stands, calling for Washington Spirits majority owner Steve Baldwin to sell

ownership of the team immediately.

After making a major shake in the front office the team was hit with Covid-19 which led to them forfeiting two of their games. Through it all, Washington found a way to win through adversity. In the first half of today's playoff match against the North Carolina Courage it was back and forth, making about 4 on target shots and keeping the Courage from attempting to score. Second half of the match the Spirit tallied up with 20 shots and 3 more on target shots. You would think that the Courage would take advantage of the Spirit’s missed opportunities at scoring but goalie Aubrey Bledsoe has been on a roll with 8 saves.

At the end of regulation both teams tied at 0-0 walking into overtime. Both Spirit and Courage players went the distance going over a 100 minutes showing fatigue but as I said before the Spirit have faced nothing but adversity this season and they weren’t letting that stop them. With 113 min in extra time Striker Ashley Hatch made the 1st goal and only goal of the game to win 1-0 over the North Carolina Courage. This Washington Spirit team continues to fight no matter what's in front of them. The team's next opponent in the playoffs will be the OL Reign.