Recap: Spirit Draws Courage on the Road, Extends Regular Season Unbeaten Streak to 12

Washington, D.C. (10/11/2025) – The Washington Spirit extended its unbeaten streak across NWSL play to 12 matches with a rainy away draw against North Carolina Saturday night. Forward Trinity Rodman netted her fifth goal of the season in the process. 

The first half was a defensive battle, with the Spirit taking two shots on target and holding the Courage to zero. In the 23rd minute, Rodman fired a shot from distance toward goal, forcing Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy to tip the ball over the bar for a corner kick. On an ensuing corner kick, midfielder Croix Bethune lobbed a ball into the box for Rodman who took a one-timer shot wide of the frame. 

Just two minutes later, North Carolina appeared to have taken the lead with a goal from former Spirit player Ashley Sanchez but the play was ruled offside. In the 34th minute, Rodman and forward Sofia Cantore combined for a threat when Rodman found Cantore in the box before the Italian fired a turnaround shot wide. The match entered halftime still deadlocked at zero. 

Washington started the second half with two substitutions: defender Kysha Sylla on for Tara McKeown and forward Gift Monday on for Rosemonde Kouassi. The Spirit attack began the second 45 on the front foot as Bethune fired a shot on target that was saved in the 49th minute. Four minutes later, the visitors struck first when midfielder Hal Hershfelt found Rodman running down the wing. Rodman beat her defender into the box and fired a rocket into the back of the net. 

The Courage again appeared to find a goal in the 56th minute but, after a VAR review, the score was disallowed due to an offside call. Washington made two more substitutions in the 61st minute with defender Paige Metayer entering the match for Hershfelt and defender Esme Morgan coming on for Rebeca Bernal. Midfielder Leicy Santos replaced Bethune in the 67th minute for the Spirit’s final substitution of the match. 

In the 84th minute, midfielder Deborah Abiodun was shown a yellow card for a foul, her second consecutive match receiving a caution. Two minutes later, North Carolina brought the match level with a rebound shot from Shinomi Koyama in the box, her second of the season. The Courage kept the pressure on the Spirit defending third across a lengthy eight minutes of stoppage time, capped by a close-range shot in the box in the final two minutes that was blocked out for a corner kick. The final whistle signaled Washington’s 12th consecutive league match unbeaten, extending the club record. 

Next up, the Spirit will return home for two matches at Audi Field next week. On Wednesday, October 15, Washington will host Monterrey in its final group stage match of the 2025-26 Concacaf W Champions Cup. On Saturday, October 18, the Spirit will play its final home match before the playoffs when it hosts the Orlando Pride in a championship rematch. Tickets to both matches are available HERE. 

 

-NWSL Match Report- 

Match: North Carolina Courage vs. Washington Spirit 

Date: Saturday, October 11, 2025 

Venue: First Horizon Stadium (Cary, N.C.) 

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. EDT 

Weather: Rainy, low-60s 

 

Scoring Summary: 

Goals	1	2	F
North Carolina	0	1	0
Washington	0	1	0

WAS – Trinity Rodman – 53′ (assisted by Hal Hershfelt) 

NC – Shinomi Koyama – 86′ 

 

Lineups: 

NC: 1 – Casey Murphy; 17 – Dani Weatherholt (27 – Maycee Bell, 82’); 4 – Natalie Jacobs; 3 – Kaleigh Kurtz; 13 – Ryan Williams; 20 – Shinomi Koyama; 2 – Ashley Sanchez (30 – Hannah Betfort, 73’); 16 – Riley Jackson; 25 – Meredith Speck (14 – Tyler Lussi, 73’); 34 – Manaka Matsukubo; 15 – Payton Linnehan (22 – Cortnee Vine, 79’) 

Unused Substitutes: 44 – Marisa Jordan; 10 – Denise O’Sullivan; 12 – Natalia Staude; 28 – Heather MacNab; 80 – Oli Peña 

WAS: 1 – Aubrey Kingsbury; 6 – Kate Wiesner; 4 – Rebeca Bernal (24 – Esme Morgan, 61’); 9 – Tara McKeown (25 – Kysha Sylla, 46’); 20 – Deborah Abiodun; 5 – Narumi Miura; 7 – Croix Bethune (10 – Leicy Santos, 67’); 17 – Hal Hershfelt (26 – Paige Metayer, 61’); 19 – Rosemonde Kouassi (21 – Gift Monday, 46’); 27 – Sofia Cantore; 2 – Trinity Rodman 

Unused Substitutes: 28 – Sandy MacIver; 13 – Brittany Ratcliffe; 14 – Gabby Carle; 22 – Heather Stainbrook 

 

Stats Summary: NC / WAS 

Shots: 9 / 11 

Shots On Goal: 1 / 6 

Saves: 5 / 0 

Fouls: 9 / 5 

Offsides: 4 / 2 

 

Misconduct Summary: 

WAS – Deborah Abiodun – 84’ – Yellow Card 

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