Ashley Hatch scored three minutes apart in the first half to lift the Washington Spirit in a 2-0 victory against visiting Bay FC on Friday night.
Aubrey Kingsbury needed only two saves for her first clean sheet of the year as Washington (2-1-0, 6 points) was in control.
Hatch has three goals this season, already nearly the halfway mark to last year’s seven goals.
Jordan Silkowitz finished with two saves for Bay FC (1-1-1, 4 points).
Hatch’s first goal came on a shot from outside the box, with the ball bouncing once and landing in the net. Leicy Santos assisted on the sequence.
The second goal came on a header off Narumi Miura’s delivery from a set piece.
The Spirit outshot Bay FC by 7-1 in the first half. Bay FC picked up the pace considerably in the second half, but the possession time didn’t yield many top-notch scoring chances.
It was a rematch of last year’s playoff quarterfinal, which was won by the Spirit.
–Field Level Media