Washington Spirit defeated Chicago Stars FC 3-0 on Sunday at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Illinois, behind a goal and an assist from Trinity Rodman. The victory gave Washington its 10th shutout of the season and kept the club in second place on the NWSL table with five regular-season matches remaining.
Washington Spirit Take Early Lead
Rodman opened the scoring in the seventh minute after Hal Hershfelt played her a leading pass into the final third. Rodman finished past Chicago goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher for her 11th goal of the season, while Hershfelt recorded her first assist of the year.
Washington continued to pressure Chicago and collected four more shots over the next 20 minutes. Naeher saved another Rodman attempt and sent it out for a corner kick before Chicago conceded a penalty for a handball in the box on the ensuing set piece.
Andi Sullivan converted the penalty in the 34th minute to extend Washington’s advantage to 2-0. The goal marked Sullivan’s first regular-season goal since May 2024.
Trinity Rodman Sets Up Washington Spirit’s Third Goal
Washington made two substitutions at halftime, bringing on Ashley Hatch for Rosemonde Kouassi and Paige Metayer for Lucia Di Guglielmo. In the 50th minute, Tara Rudd sent a free-kick attempt from just outside the box wide of the goal.
The Spirit made two more changes in the 75th minute after Mélissa Bethi went down with an injury. Tamara Bolt replaced Bethi, while Monique Ngock entered for Sullivan.
Rodman provided the final assist in the 85th minute when she found Bolt in the box. Bolt scored with a header for her first career NWSL goal, completing the 3-0 victory.
Rodman tied the league single-season record for most game-winning goal contributions at nine.
Sandy MacIver Sets Washington Spirit Clean-Sheet Record
Goalkeeper Sandy MacIver recorded Washington’s 10th clean sheet of the season, setting a Washington Spirit single-season club record. The result also marked the Spirit’s 10th shutout of the year.
Washington finished with 16 shots, including four on goal, while Chicago recorded 11 shots with five on goal. MacIver made five saves, and Naeher made one save for Chicago.
Washington Spirit Schedule
Washington Spirit will host Angel City FC on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. The match will air on ION.
Maryland Sports Blog Take
Washington Spirit combined an early goal, a converted penalty and a record-setting clean sheet to earn the road victory. Rodman scored and assisted, while MacIver’s 10th clean sheet established a new single-season club mark.
Source: Original report
