Washington Spirit beats Gotham FC for 4th straight win

Apr 20, 2024, 05:37 pm

Croix Bethune scored late in the first half and Ashley Hatch connected midway through the second to lead the Washington Spirit past visiting NJ/NY Gotham FC 2-0 on Saturday.

Casey Krueger notched an assist, while Aubrey Kingsbury made three saves for Washington (4-1-0, 12 points), which won its fourth straight match. The Spirit outshot Gotham FC 12-11, were 5-3 in shots and goal and won despite having two goals disallowed by offsides calls.

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Cassie Miller tallied three saves for Gotham (1-2-1, 4 points), which opened the second half with more intensity but generated few high-quality shots en route to their second shutout loss this season.

The Spirit created multiple scoring opportunities in the first half but failed to capitalize until the 41st minute when Bethune tucked a knuckling left-footed strike from beyond the box inside the left post.

Croix Bethune set Washington Spirit on the path to victory against Gotham FC.
Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

Hatch doubled Washington's lead in the 69th minute on a penalty kick after a replay review charged Gotham with a handball inside the box.

Gotham and U.S. women's national team defender Tierna Davidson was taken off with an injury and replaced by Sam Hiatt in the 21st minute.

Information from Field Level Media contributed to this report.