Washington Spirit's opening goal against Portland Thorns in the NWSL Playoff semifinals was the epitome of counter-attacking football, and showed how the duo of Rosemonde Kouassi and Gift Monday have driven the team to the Championship.
From a Portland corner kick, the ball was cleared out and looked to be headed out for a Thorn throw in. That is, until forward Kouassi took over, exploding into a sprint to save the ball on the line, then going on a lung-bursting coast to coast run towards the opposition box.
Her run triggered fellow forward Monday into doing the same, matching her stride for stride and arriving at the perfect moment to be on the end of Kouassi's inch-perfect ball into the box for what looked to be an easy tap in.
It was not as easy as it looked, and was their sixth decisive, goalscoring link up of the season.
"When the ball was headed out of our box, I was thinking it was out of play," Monday told ESPN. "So I was getting ready to defend a throw in. And then I saw Rose steal the ball from the opponent.
"At that point, I knew for sure I just had to run. I had no option because I knew that as a striker I should always be present in the box if my team mate is ahead of me because I need to create support options for them and be available."
A week earlier the same pair had combined to open the scoring for the Spirit against Racing Louisville FC, with Kouassi delivering a cross into the box from almost the exact same spot, Monday elevating to plant a header beyond the Louisville keeper.
Saturday's goal against Portland took Kouassi to seven assists across all competitions this year. A remarkable six of those have been to Monday, who now has 10 goals.
Even though both are African, Monday from English-Speaking Nigeria and Kouassi from French-speaking Ivory Coast, the Nigerian says the chemistry between the two just organically.
"The connection between us was not planned," she said. "I don't know how it happened or when it started but somehow we just clicked, just like that.
"She does not speak English and I don't speak French, but somehow we communicate. We just understand each other. So we just brought that connection from outside the pitch onto the pitch because we are both forwards and we need each other."
As they prepare for Saturday's NWSL Championship game against Gotham FC, the Monday-Kouassi axis may well define how that Final shapes up and Monday says they don't need words to understand each other... but it's not for lack of trying.
"I try to talk to her on the pitch and I tell her, if she finds herself in difficulty, to just play the ball into the box. It doesn't matter whether the ball is perfect or not, just put it in the box, and I will find a way to get to it," Monday said.
"The first time I told her that, she didn't understand so I got Kysha (Sylla) to translate it for her and that is how we got it going.
"Sometimes we use Google Translate off the field, but it is not always correct," she said, amused.
Spirit coach Adrián González is enjoying the on-field chemistry between the two and says it is a reflection of what happens off the field and the work the team puts in behind the scenes to build those connections.
"They love each other," he said. "They spend a lot of time together dancing and hanging out. Obviously, what we can do, on the field, is provoking those connections.
"We do that with all players, understanding what the team may need from them, knowing which strengths they have, building those non-verbal communications, understanding the meaning of each movement, of each pass."
Gonzalez added that the staff has spent months refining their reads on rhythm, timing and body shape so both forwards, and others in the team, can "communicate without talking" but that work only sticks because the friendships are real.
"We have a lot of work behind those situations," he said. "Every movement, every pass according to the rhythm, the pace of the ball, the weight of the pass, the body shape. We have a lot of situations that help them to communicate without talking.
"Right now, they understand each other very good. You are seeing also all the connections are appearing now, maybe Croix, Sophia also Monday and Croix, obviously Lacey and Croix too.
"It is something that we build because we believe that that is important and at the end of the day, they play so they know what they want from each other."
Kouassi arrived at the Spirit in 2024 with a lot of promise, and has taken her time to settle down, now showing the potential that the team saw in her, with her pace, quick feet and ability to take on players.
"She has speed, great feet, she's cheeky," midfielder Croix Bethune, who scored the second goal of that semifinal win, said.
"She just has so many options. We are emphasizing the offensive part, but defensive wise, don't sleep on her. She knows how to defend a player one v one. If she does get beat, which doesn't happen very often, she will track back and still get the ball. When she's on, she's on and for us, these past few weeks, she's been balling."
That searing run through Portland was the perfect example of Kouassi's skill set. An unyielding determination to hunt down a ball that looked like a lost cause, skill to skip past one opponent, the speed to race down the line and the technique to still deliver a great ball into the box.
"She's just got such brilliant timing for knowing when to turn on her pace and blitz past someone and that goal was just ridiculous going the full length of the pitch," said defender Esme Morgan, adding that the forward was all out of breath by the end of it.
"When she was lying down, I was like 'Rose are you hurt, are you okay'. She was like she was fine, just tired from sprinting the length of the pitch. Such an incredible assist, she's so great to play with."
Despite the language barrier, Monday says she has benefitted from playing with Kouassi: "I love Rose so much because she brings out the best in me.
"She is very fast, she is smart with the ball, she has good feet, and she is very skilful so I have to train myself to meet up and be a help for her. And I think she does the same too.
"I just love playing with her, I have speed but she is quick. Any time I am playing with her and I see her going I know I just have to run because I have to be at the same pace with her."