When the Washington Spirit arrived in Los Angeles forward of Friday’s recreation in opposition to Angel Metropolis FC, they had been with out Trinity Rodman, Ouleye Sarr, and Casey Krueger.

Resulting from a mix of accidents, which have additionally sidelined rookie phenom Croix Bethune, the Spirit had been heading into an vital recreation with out a few of their most gifted and dependable gamers. However this less-than-ideal state of affairs didn’t maintain them from securing a 2-1 win, gathering three factors on the street and showcasing unwavering confidence the entire time. 

“Now we have a powerful mentality,” assistant coach Adrián González mentioned after the sport. “We’ve proven so many occasions that we all know the right way to compete.”

The sport, whereas finally a victory for the Spirit, was not a simple one. For starters, a street recreation in Los Angeles is rarely a layup for a visiting group – Angel Metropolis’s spectacular stadium and thrilling crowd will at all times intimidate an opponent. And arriving on this unnerving atmosphere with out key members of their group might have naturally rattled the Spirit. 

Nonetheless, they performed comparatively unphased. After a number of sturdy makes an attempt, the Spirit broke open the scoring within the thirty ninth minute with a objective from Ashley Hatch. Angel Metropolis equalized within the 51st minute, however the Spirit took the lead once more the 78th with a objective from Makenna Morris and held onto their 2-1 result in the tip. 

“This win was large,” acknowledged Hatch after the sport. “It was an enormous testomony to our exhausting work. Now we have a deep roster. Coming right here, it’s not simple, however a very powerful message is that we have to compete.” 

Hatch is one in all a handful of gamers who’ve particularly stepped up within the absence of some Spirit stars. She received her fourth begin in a row in Friday’s recreation, and her objective tied her with Megan Rapinoe for the sixth-most objectives scored in NWSL historical past (51). 

González particularly acknowledged the essential method that Hatch has been stepping up for the group. He accredits a lot of her contributions to her sturdy mentality and her means to thrive beneath strain. “I’m so blissful for Hatchy,” González mentioned after the sport. “She’s coaching actually good, she deserves that objective.” 

Morris’s objective within the 78th minute – ten minutes after she was subbed into the sport – additionally demonstrated that the roster has depth and may proceed to thrive and win with out its marquee members. Per González, Morris’s objective was a product of an offensive change that the group made later within the recreation as they tried to regulate to Angel Metropolis’s sturdy assault. 

“We knew we needed to take a step ahead by way of creating possibilities with totally different gamers,” González mentioned. “We are able to rating in numerous methods, and we did a very good job of being dynamic, particularly with Hatch Rose [Kouassi], and Makenna. They’ve accomplished an excellent job. … All of us have totally different strengths by way of attacking and we might exploit that immediately.”

Friday evening’s win got here with an extra rewarding feeling – the Spirit might give themselves permission to formally put final week’s loss in opposition to Kansas Metropolis behind them. The lopsided 3-0 loss to Kansas Metropolis, a group that the Spirit beat only a few weeks earlier, was a tough tablet to swallow after performing with such energy and formidability all through the season. 

However the group was in a position to faucet into its psychological toughness and resilience to seize the win on Friday, and members of the Spirit reestablished their confidence in themselves within the course of. “We at all times wish to win, it don’t matter the place we’re,” mentioned González. He is aware of dangerous information is unavoidable, however, per González, “we at all times put together to win.” 

Subsequent up for the Spirit is a match in opposition to the undefeated Orlando Satisfaction on Sunday, Oct. 6. Whereas each groups have already clinched a playoff berth, the Satisfaction will probably be seeking to preserve their unbeat-ability. However the Spirit, even with out a few of their stars, will pose a real risk to that file.