Recap: Spirit Collects First Win of Season, Jumps Above Playoff Line Ahead of International Break

San Jose, Calif. (04/05/2026) – The Washington Spirit earned its first win of the season on Sunday evening with a 2-0 road victory over Bay FC. The Spirit jumped five spots on the NWSL table and now sits in a playoff position heading into the upcoming international break.

The Spirit started the match on the right foot, controlling possession and putting together quality attacking chances. In the 11th minute, forward Rosemonde Kouassi made a crafty move near the endline and sent a cross into the box for midfielder Leicy Santos whose shot went just wide of the frame. Washington would put three shots on target over the first 30 minutes of the match and keep the ball in Bay’s defending third for a large portion of the opening 45 but was unable to find the back of the net before halftime.

Just before halftime, defenders Tara Rudd and Lucia Di Guglielmo suffered a scary collision attempting to clear a ball in from Bay, causing a lengthy stoppage in play. Di Guglielmo was forced to sub out with Paige Metayer coming on in her place while Rudd was able to remain in the match after receiving medical attention.

Forward Claudia Martínez came on for Sofia Cantore to start the second half as the Spirit looked to break through in the attack. Washington continued to find promising chances with Trinity Rodman taking a sharp-angle shot in the box that was saved and Rudd taking a header off a corner kick. The visitors finally broke the seal in the 57th minute thanks to a Bay FC error. In an attempt to clear the ball in the box, Bay goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz inadvertently fired the ball off a teammate and over her head into the goal.

The Spirit sent Andi Sullivan and Tamara Bolt on shortly after to help close out the match. In the 82nd minute, Martínez looked to help add to the Spirit lead with a great cross into the box for Bolt but a Bay defender was able to tip the ball away from danger.

Two minutes later, forward Gift Monday subbed on for Santos and scored an insurance goal almost immediately. In the 86th minute, Monday collected a rebound in the box and fired it into the back of the net for the 2-0 lead. The goal was Monday’s 12th total goal since joining the Spirit last spring. Washington controlled most of possession throughout the final minutes of the match and collected goalkeeper Sandy MacIver’s second straight clean sheet when the final whistle blew.

Over the next two weeks, nine Spirit players will compete with their respective senior national teams during the upcoming international break. When NWSL play resumes, the Spirit will take the pitch at Audi Field on Friday, April 24 to host the defending Shield winner Kansas City Current. Kicking off at 8 p.m. EDT, the match will see the top two teams from last season face off. Tickets are available at WashingtonSpirit.com/tickets.

 

-NWSL Match Report- 

Match: Bay FC vs. Washington Spirit 

Date: Sunday, April 5, 2026 

Venue: PayPal Park (San Jose, Calif.) 

Kickoff: 5 p.m. EDT 

Weather: Sunny, low-80s 

 

Scoring Summary: 

Goals	1	2	F
Bay	0	0	0
Washington	0	2	2

WAS – Brooklyn Courtnall (OG) – 57′ 

WAS – Gift Monday – 86′ 

 

Lineups: 

BAY: 29 – Jordan Silkowitz; 25 – Anouk Denton (24 – Maddie Moreau, 71’); 22 – Brooklyn Courtnall; 21 – Aldana Cometti; 16 – Sydney Collins; 41 – Hannah Bebar (19 – Dorian Bailey, 85’); 7 – Taylor Huff; 8 – Claire Hutton; 27 – Keira Barry (23 – Caroline Conti, 60’); 10 – Cristiana Girelli (5 – Karlie Lema, 71’); 17 – Alex Pfeiffer 

Unused Substitutes: 32 – Emmie Allen; 6 – Onyeka Gamero; 11 – Kelli Hubly; 12 – Tess Boade; 14 – Jamie Shepherd 

WAS: 18 – Sandy MacIver; 6 – Kate Wiesner; 9 – Tara Rudd; 24 – Esme Morgan; 13 – Lucia Di Guglielmo (26 – Paige Metayer, 45+3’); 4 – Rebeca Bernal (12 – Andi Sullivan, 76’); 10 – Leicy Santos (21 – Gift Monday, 84’); 17 – Hal Hershfelt; 2 – Trinity Rodman; 27 – Sofia Cantore (11 – Claudia Martínez, 46’); 19 – Rosemonde Kouassi (16 – Tamara Bolt, 76’) 

Unused Substitutes: 31 – Kaylie Collins; 5 – Élisabeth Tsé; 29 – Emma Gaines-Ramos; 35 – Madison Haugen 

 

Stats Summary: BAY / WAS 

Shots: 6 / 20 

Shots On Goal: 1 / 10 

Saves: 9 / 1 

Fouls: 5 / 11 

Offsides: 0 / 3 

 

Misconduct Summary: 

BAY – Brooklyn Courtnall – 90′ – Yellow Card

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