Washington Spirit vs. Racing Louisville FC

Washington, District of Columbia – Over at Audi Field, Washington Spirit put on a convincing performance to beat Racing Louisville FC 3-0 on Saturday evening.

It was one-way traffic right from the start as the hosts asserted their dominance on home turf. The breakthrough came in the eighth minute when Trinity Rodman sent a ball in over the top to find Ashley Hatch who made no mistake to beat goalkeeper Michelle Betos. One of Racing Louisville’s first attempts came near the 30-minute mark when Cece Kizer managed to get a shot off but it did not have enough power to trouble Aubrey Bledso in net. The Spirit then had an opportunity to double their lead when Tara McKeown was one-on-one with Betos but she scuffed her shot wide. Despite waves of attack, the visitors were able to stifle any additional threats from the hosts seeing things stand 1-0 at the break. The Spirit, however, then turned up the pressure in the second half and continued to send their attackers forward. Just five minutes into the restart, Ashley Sanchez was taken down in the box allowing Andi Sullivan to step up to the spot and double the lead. Down at the other end, Racing Louisville’s leading scorer Ebony Salmon made a few runs towards the Spirit’s back line but was not able to create any opportunities. Washington continued to control the game and late in the half, Rodman and Hatch linked up again to make things 3-0. Hatch is now tied at the top of the NWSL scoring charts with nine goals to her name. The visitors did have a few chances to pull back a consolation goal but could not find the back of the net. Bledsoe in particular, made a strong save on a strike from Emina Ekic to keep hold of a clean sheet. The victory sees Washington continue their quest to make the playoffs while Racing Louisville are now out of contention.