WASHINGTON, D.C. — It is difficult to quantify the concept that sometimes, you just know. But it proved to be the key to victory for the Washington Spirit.
The Spirit kept their Shield hopes alive and clinched their third consecutive playoff berth with a 1-0 win against Gotham FC in Washington on Saturday. And after the game, several players shared that they followed their premonitions to their first win against Gotham since the 2024 NWSL semifinals.
In the 70th minute, Spirit attacking midfielder Mélissa Bethi tracked down a ball that had drifted back out of the 18-yard box. She took a couple of steps in her spot in the left half-space and chipped a ball up toward a spot just to the right of the penalty spot.
After the game, she told reporters that “I knew that somebody was going to be there.”
Her teammate, fullback Lucia Di Guglielmo was there, bringing the ball down with her chest and turning it forward toward goal. With Gotham’s Taryn Torres crashing into her, Di Guglielmo swept her left foot across the ball and nudged it toward the right of goal, with the shot trickling past Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger and into the net.
Similar to the situation with Bethi, Di Guglielmo shared in the postgame press conference that, for her, it was about knowing that a space she liked to get to would open up.
“I didn’t know she wanted to put that ball, but I knew there was that space. And even if that ball wasn’t for me, I knew I wanted to attack that space. I think it was good timing for that run and I love to make that run,” Di Guglielmo said.
She added that the team felt particularly together and connected, and that keeping that up would be the most important lesson for the Spirit to carry with them down the stretch.
“I felt as part of this team today that we couldn’t lose this game, because we were together, no matter what. We were there every moment, for each other, and I think this is the most important thing we can learn today.”
The goal capped a stellar two-way game for the Spirit, who also kept Gotham to just five shots and 0.41 expected goals. Spirit goalkeeper Sandy MacIver only had to make two saves on the afternoon, and none after the 34th minute.
MacIver gave credit to Di Guglielmo and fellow fullback Gabrielle Carle as well as center backs Tara Rudd and Esme Morgan for their play in front of her.
“I think [Tara] and [Esme] really judged the flight of their long balls. They started to go a bit more direct, especially in the second half. But I don’t really think there was any threat from it. And I think the fullbacks, both Gabby and [Lucia], did a brilliant job up against their wingers. The girls who started and the girls who came on really nullified any threat for them to get a cross into the box.”
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Gotham midfielder Denise O’Sullivan said that the Spirit’s defensive structure made creating opportunities difficult.
“I think Washington made it difficult to get on the ball,” O’Sullivan said. I think especially in the first half, I think they sat in a block and we couldn’t really penetrate through the midfield. We had to play around them and that led to us not creating many chances.”
From there, play would funnel out to the wings. For a Gotham club that often sent the ball up the right wing and tested the Spirit’s left defensive flank, it put a lot on the shoulders of Carle, who was playing at left back.
The Canadian defender put in a particularly stellar defensive performance with a team-high nine defensive contributions, including five tackles, two interceptions and two clearances.
After the game, Carle noted that the playing style of Gotham right winger Midge Purce prompted her to adjust her defending accordingly.
“Purce is a really strong, fast player, so for me it was important to close early, because you don’t want her to gain speed,” Carle said. “She’s a quality player. So I just had that in mind, like ‘this is how I’m going to defend’—very aggressive, very front-footed, and I think it worked well.”
That front-footed approach from the Spirit left Gotham on the back foot. And even to Gotham’s own eye, it showed.
“Obviously, it was not our best game,” said midfielder Jaelin Howell. “Everything was just a little off for us. It was a half-step off, half-step slow, and we know that, as a team.”
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One notable absence from the game for Gotham was attacker Jaedyn Shaw. The 21-year-old dressed for the game and was on the bench, but Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós did not substitute Shaw in.
Amorós told reporters afterward that it came down to the injury concerns lingering from a knock she suffered while training with the U.S. women’s under-23 national team.
“With Jaedyn, we just want to make sure that she is ready. She was almost ready, but sometimes we would rather—I would always protect the player above the risk of playing someone that maybe wasn’t 100%,” Amorós said.
Gotham is still in pole position to win the NWSL Shield and secure the number one seed in the playoffs next month, as wins at Orlando next weekend and at home against Utah on Nov. 1 would guarantee them the Shield. But the Spirit are now just three points behind Gotham, meaning that, all things being equal, any weekend with a Gotham loss and Spirit win could leave the two clubs level on points.
