Kansas City Withstands Late Washington Push for a 3-2 Win at Home

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FC Kansas CityNWSLWashington Spirit
··3 min read
Sydney Leroux of FC Kansas City blowing kisses after scoring.

FC Kansas City held on after a late Washington Spirit rally to win, 3-2, and improve to 3-2-2 at Children’s Mercy Victory Field in Kansas City, Missouri. The loss drops Washington to 1-5-1 and last in the league table.

It started out positive for the Spirit after scoring in the 4th minute. Kristie Mewis scored on a left-footed shot inside the box after Kansas City was unable to clear a corner kick. Mewis’ shot took a deflection off a Kansas City player and past goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart.

Sydney Leroux equalized minutes later on a solo effort aided by Brittany Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe picked off a bad pass by Washington’s Line Sigvardsen Jensen and headed to goal. Leroux overlapped to the left and took Ratcliffe’s pass and out ran and out muscled the Spirit defense to put a sliding shot past Stephanie Labbé to the far post.

Kansas City thought it had taken the lead in the 19th minute when Shea Groom scored but the goal was called off for a push by Groom.

Labbé continued her strong play in goal and kept the score level in the 26th minute after a diving save to deny Ratcliffe from outside of the box.


Leroux added another in the 27th minute after Shea Groom stripped the ball off of defender Whitney Church at the top of the box. The ball was up for grabs and Leroux pounced, shooting with her right foot to put the ball past Labbé.

In the second half, Kansas City added a third goal in the 60th minute. This one came off a corner kick that Becky Sauerbrunn headed to the far corner to beat the defender on the goal line.


Alexa Newfield was sent off in the 70th minute after receiving her second yellow card of the game for a challenge on goalkeeper Labbé. Labbé was down for several minutes but finished out the game.

It was Washington’s turn to have a goal called back in the 75th minute. Francisca Ordega took the rebound off a shot at the endline and sent in a left-footed shot that deflected off of the goalkeeper and into the net. However, the official waived the goal off after determining the ball had crossed the endline before Ordega got the shot off.

Washington cut the lead to one in the 82nd minute. Havana Solaun’s shot roughly 20 yards out took a deflection and into the back of the net.


Kansas City, playing with 10 players after Newfield’s ejection, held on to the lead after Washington pressed to find the equalizer.

The win gives Kansas City 11 points and a record of 3-2-2 and sixth place in the league table. Washington remains in last place with four points.

FC Kansas City will travel to North Carolina to face a Courage team still in first place despite a 2-3 loss to Chicago, on Saturday, June 3. Washington will return home to host the Houston Dash.

Attendance: 1,728

Notes

Washington Spirit forward Mallory Pugh made her first professional start after debuting last week against in the Spirit’s 0-1 loss to FC Kansas City.

Lineups

FC Kansas City
18-Nicole Barnhart; 3-Becca Moros (21-Caroline Flynn, 83′); 10-Yael Averbuch; 4-Becky Sauerbrunn; 13-Brittany Taylor; 11-Desiree Scott; 9-Lo’eau LaBonta; 25-Brittany Ratcliffe (6-Katie Bowen, 65′); 88-Alexa Newfield; 2-Shea Groom (31-Christina Gibbons, 76′); 14-Sydney Leroux

Washington Spirit
1-Stephanie Labbé; 22-Alyssa Kleiner; 4-Shelina Zadorsky; 5-Whitney Church; 24-Estelle Johnson; 19-Kristie Mewis; 7-Line Sigvardsen Jensen (9-Havana Solaun, 66′); 29-Meggie Dougherty Howard; 11-Mallory Pugh; 12-Katie Stengel (2-Arielle Ship, 77′); 20-Cheyna Williams (14-Francisca Ordega, 28′)

Discipline

FC Kansas City
Yellow Cards:
Alexa Newfied, 15′, 70′
Brittany Taylor, 89′

Red Cards:
Alexa Newfield, 70′

Washington Spirit
Yellow Cards:
Meggie Dougherty Howard, 39′
Francisca Ordega, 86′