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Spirit romps past Racing Louisville by showcasing its depth

Washington, which is getting closer to full strength as the playoffs approach, got two goals from rookie Makenna Morris during a 4-1 win at Audi Field.

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Spirit rookie Makenna Morris scored two goals for the first time in her NWSL career. (Rafael Suanes/Imagn Images)
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Following a three-game stretch of road games in which the shorthanded squad lost twice, Sunday’s match at Audi Field gave the Washington Spirit a chance to regain momentum as the NWSL playoffs approach.

Washington remained without many key players — and was reeling after losing midfielder Andi Sullivan to an ACL tear suffered last week in a loss at Orlando — but others stepped into important roles and contributed to a comfortable victory over Racing Louisville.

Makenna Morris, a rookie making her second start, doubled her goal total by recording two in the first half before Ashley Hatch converted a penalty and Lena Silano struck in second-half stoppage time to lift Washington to a 4-1 win.

“I can’t remember the last time I didn’t play with Andi, so we knew that it would be an opportunity for a lot of players to step up,” defender Tara McKeown said. “We controlled the ball, controlled the tempo, and it’s great to get a lot of goals again.”

The Spirit clinched a home game in the NWSL quarterfinals Saturday and remained in second place thanks to Sunday’s victory. That’s a good place to be — it would ensure Washington hosts a semifinal if it advances. The Spirit (16-6-2) and Gotham FC (15-4-5) have 50 points apiece, and Kansas City (14-3-7) remains a point behind. Orlando has locked up the league’s top record.

The Spirit is getting healthier as the postseason nears. Trinity Rodman, Casey Krueger and Chloe Ricketts were available off the bench Sunday, and Hal Hershfelt started in her return from a suspension. Rodman entered in the 66th minute; Krueger and Ricketts did not play. Leicy Santos and Ouleymata Sarr remained unavailable, and Sullivan joined Croix Bethune and three others on the season-ending injury list.

Given all of that, Sunday’s lineup still lacked experience in some key spots, but that didn’t show early on. The Spirit held the advantage from the first whistle, outshooting Louisville 8-0 in the first 15 minutes. But only one of those attempts was on target, and Louisville (6-11-7) slowly grew into the game before Morris pounced on a mistake.

The forward blocked Louisville keeper Katie Lund’s pass and ripped a shot past her to open the scoring in the 36th minute. Morris converted again seven minutes later after tapping in Rosemonde Kouassi’s cutback from close range.

“When we have bad news, we don’t have to regret a lot or complain about why and ask what happened,” Spirit Coach Jonatan Giráldez said last week. “Of course you have to analyze what happened and try to improve for the future, but I am always seeing opportunities. … I am very motivated, and the players are on the same page.”

Kouassi, who joined the Spirit from FC Fleury 91 in France’s top league in July, came close to scoring her first goal with her new club on several occasions and won a penalty kick in the second half. Hatch scored from the spot in the 56th minute to give the Spirit a 3-0 lead.

Louisville’s Emma Sears found the net in the 72nd minute before Silano recorded her second goal of the year in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time.

Washington has two regular season games left — next Sunday vs. Chicago and Nov. 2 at North Carolina. After that, the playoffs arrive.

“After losing the [Orlando] game and after Andi’s injury, we needed good news,” Giráldez said. “The performance that we showed today is going to give us the confidence that we are going to need for the future.”