Sunday’s showdown at Inter&Co Stadium turned out to be a bit of an anticlimax, unless you were tuning in just to see the Orlando Pride win the Shield for their first piece of hardware after nine seasons in the National Women’s Soccer League.
The 1st-vs.-2nd showdown with the Washington Spirit lost a bit of luster when the Pride opened up a nearly unassailable lead at the top, and expectations dropped further when the Spirit’s banged-up gameday roster turned into a MASH unit.
And so without Trinity Rodman, Ouleye Sarr, Casey Krueger, Leicy Santos, or Hal Hershfelt (yellow card accumulation) — who account for 20 of the team’s 44 goals, not to mention Croix Bethune (five goals, 10 assists), who is out for the season — the Spirit did their best to become the first team all season to beat the Pride. To no avail.
The Pride did just what they needed to for a 2-0 victory and became the first team to get their hands on the newly redesigned NWSL Shield. The Spirit, assuming everyone gets back to full health ahead of the playoffs, will live to fight another day. More concerning than the loss that leaves them second place, but only a point clear of fourth, was a late injury to midfielder Andi Sullivan, who required a stretcher to take her off the field.
Access the best women’s soccer coverage all year long
Start your FREE, 7-day trial of The Equalizer Extra for industry-leading reporting and insight on the USWNT, NWSL and beyond.
Subscribe
Existing Users Sign In Here
More...