**WASHINGTON, D.C.** – The North Carolina Courage defeated the Washington Spirit, 1-0, on the road on Sunday night in the final regular season match of the year, with the Courage relying on a Tyler Lussi goal in the 25 ^th minute to separate the two sides in the end. After Spirit forward Trinity Rodman had been sent off in the 23 ^rd minute, North Carolina’s momentum created the Lussi goal and the side held on for not only all three points but to sneak into the playoffs as well, finishing in 3 ^rd place with 33 points.
North Carolina came out the quicker of the two sides with midfielder Manaka looking to test the Spirit defense after just six minutes, but her effort landed wide of goal in the end. The Spirit then responded with chances of their own in the following minutes through forwards Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman, but neither would be enough to find the game’s opening goal.
Then, the match took a major turn in the 23 ^rd minute as Rodman had initially been shown a yellow card for a rash challenge from behind. However, as play was halted, the officials opted to review the challenge and VAR concluded that it was heavy enough to rescind the yellow card and be given a red card instead, resulting in Rodman’s immediate dismissal.
That then led to North Carolina storming down the other end and finding their lone goal of the night as Lussi slammed home a Manaka cross from just a few yards out and gave the Courage their lead as the Spirit were still reeling from the effects of being a player down.
Washington would not go quietly by any means, however, and midfielder Paige Metayer nearly squeezed a toe poked effort across the line in the 38 ^th minute only for a combination of goalkeeper Casey Murphy and the Courage defense to do what they needed to do to stop the shot in the end and get it out for a corner kick.
Into the second half, both teams continued to bend but not break as North Carolina pushed for a second and the Spirit did all they could to avoid going down a definitive second goal and keep their season alive. However, the best look in the second half for Washington came in the 86 ^th minute, again for Metayer, but she was unable to pull a right-footed shot on target and the chance skewed wide in the end.
For Washington, unfortunately, a draw was needed a minimum to give them a chance, but a win would have been required and so the Spirit will miss out on an opportunity to play in the postseason. Meanwhile, North Carolina marches on and will face Gotham FC in the opening round of the playoffs on Sunday evening.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights