September 15, 2019.

On Saturday night at Audi Field, the Washington Spirit and Reign FC played to a thrilling 2-2 draw in front of nearly eighteen thousand fans. The Spirit went ahead twice on the scoreboard, only for Reign FC to quickly equalize each time. In the first half, Ashley Hatch put the home side up 1-0, but Reign FC’s Bethany Balcer leveled the game five minutes later. In stoppage time, Chloe Logarzo thought she had found a winner for the Spirit, but Ifeoma Onumonu cancelled out that goal immediately at the other end.

Despite the large home crowd in their favor, the Spirit showed signs of nerves in the opening minutes. A poor giveaway at the back by defender Meggie Dougherty Howard saw the ball fall at the feet of Reign FC midfielder Rosie White, who unleashed a shot from the top of the penalty area. Goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe got a hand to the ball and was able to tip it out of bounds with some help from the crossbar.

During the opening half hour, Reign FC looked superior, and the Spirit seemed rusty after three weeks without a match.

The Spirit would be first to find a goal, though, as striker Ashley Hatch scored a sweet header past Reign FC keeper Casey Murphy in the 30th minute. Spirit midfielder Mallory Pugh eluded a couple of defenders down the left touchline and sent in an inch-perfect cross to Ashley Hatch, who flicked the ball inside the near post to give her team the 1-0 lead.

Reign FC reacted quickly, and they equalized off of a corner merely five minutes later. Forward Bethany Balcer pounced on a short, punched clearance by Aubrey Bledsoe and controlled the ball inside the Spirit penalty area before firing down low past a sea of legs. Bledsoe dove towards the bottom corner, but the ball skidded under her and went into the net.

With the score tied at 1-1, the game opened up and both teams traded chances before the halftime break.



In the second half, Reign FC coach Vladko Andonovski brought on USWNT star Megan Rapinoe to boost the attacking front.

After the break, the Spirit looked closer to scoring, and they had two clear chances to go ahead.

In the 60th minute, the Spirit had a two-on-two counter attack that ended with a brilliant save by goalkeeper Casey Murphy. Mallory Pugh drew the Reign FC defenders towards her and slipped the ball through to Cheyna Matthews, who was unable to finish the one-on-one against Murphy.

Ten minutes later, the Spirit had another opportunity to score. This time, Mallory Pugh made a diagonal run across the Reign FC back line, and Cheyna Matthews picked her out with a well-timed through ball. Pugh controlled the pass and fired towards the near post, but she was unable to wrap her foot around the ball properly and the chance went wide.

In the 81st minute, Reign FC thought they had earned a penalty after Megan Rapinoe was brought down in the box, but the referee waived off any appeals and let the game play on.



In the 90th minute, the Washington Spirit finally found a second goal thanks to Chloe Logarzo. The Australian international received a cross to the back post and took a touch to create space for a shot. Logarzo then curled her effort into the top corner to make the game 2-1.

The Spirit lead would once again not last long. Two minutes into stoppage time, midfielder Jody Taylor slipped Ifeoma Onumonu through on goal, and the Reign FC striker finished cooly past Aubrey Bledsoe to level the game in dramatic fashion.

For the Spirit, dropping two points at the death is sure to sting. The Spirit are five points out of the NWSL playoff picture, and they must be near perfect in the next five games if they want to make the postseason.



-Pablo Bayona Sapag / Jisung Kim.