In the quarterfinals be billed as upset watchThe second-seeded Washington Spirit flipped the script and advanced to the semifinals on penalties. Against the backdrop of a raucous hometown crowd at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., the Spirit managed to take control of the match early. In the first half, Louisville had no real answers to the Spirit's progress on the ball and often to their territorial counterpressing.
Racing spent most of the game in their own half and nearly faced an early deficit, but Spirit's nifty set-piece goal was ruled offside and an injury-related replacement for Spirit defender Gabby Karl nearly slowed the pace, but not enough. However, Washington dominated nearly every offensive and offensive metric by halftime, including possession (73% to Louisville's minimal 27%), and nearly doubled its pass attempts (302 to 109) and total touches (405 to 202).
However, both sides' shot selection was questionable and they took a long time to find a goal in normal time, with Spirit's Gift Monday finally breaking the deadlock with a header.
That seemed to be all the Spirit needed as they took the lead in stoppage time. But the drama was just beginning. Substitute Kayla Fisher made a huge difference for Louisville, tying the game in stoppage time.
The extra time brought plenty of drama as Spirit's injury list grew deeper as the game progressed. Washington defender and U.S. women's national team player Tara McCown was replaced after making a potentially game-saving tackle. Racing star Emma Sears. In the end, tired legs and fatigue led to a heroic penalty.
Spirit goalie Aubrey Kingsbury changed the game by stopping three consecutive Racing Louisville penalties. Washington looked about the same compared to last season. Last year the group faced number 7 Bay FC, came out victorious and gained momentum to reach the final.
“To be honest, we worked on it. We're ready. All of our kickers got the job done. I did my job and we advanced to the next round,” Kingsbury said on the postgame broadcast.
“You know, we would have loved to have left there at the end of regulation, but we came back from Gabby's early injury. [Carle]Tara's late injury [McKeown]. There was a lot of adversity today, but we are very proud of the way we persevered through it and came out victorious.
“You could definitely tell we were tired. They were also very tired. They defended really well, honestly all game and we did really well until about the 93rd minute. So it’s like, “Hey, we’re good, just keep fighting. Dig deeper.” We have to give credit to our substitutes, everyone really tried today.”
The Washington Spirit will face the winner of the Portland Thorns and San Diego Wave. Both teams will play on Sunday. The winner will travel to Audi Field for the semi-finals, where the stadium has a fortress-like atmosphere.
“Oh yeah, that's great. We love our fans. There is tension here. Honestly, I feel invincible, especially when I get a penalty in front of our fans section,” Kingsbury said.
“I knew we were going to win just because we had them and that just gave us confidence. And it’s difficult for opponents to play here. So yeah, I wouldn’t want to be a goalkeeper before that.”
CBS is the home of the NWSL Championship. The final two teams remaining in the NWSL playoffs will compete for the title on Saturday, November 22 at PayPal Park in San Jose, California. The Orlando Pride recently became a semifinalist after beating Seattle Reign on Friday; they await the winner of the Kansas City Current vs. Gotham match. You can watch the final live Paramount+.
