Players to watch:
Washington forward Ashley Hatch converted the first regular season penalty of her career, scoring her 25thregular season goal since joining the Spirit in a losing effort on Saturday. Since Hatch joined Washington in 2018, only Sam Kerr (34) and Lynn Williams (33) have scored more regular season goals with no more than one goal from the spot in that time.
Racing Louisville forward Nadia Nadim came on as a substitute in the 61st minute against Angel City on Saturday, then scored a penalty in the 65th minute in the club’s 3-2 loss. The only other player in NWSL this season to come on as a substitute and score a penalty kick is Ashley Hatch, who also did so on Saturday against North Carolina.
Match facts:
The Washington Spirit host Racing Louisville FC at Segra Field on Friday night with both clubs entering off the back of losses and seeking to get back to winning ways. Washington was victorious in two of three regular season matchups against Racing Louisville last season (L1), winning the last two games by a combined score of 5-0. The last time the Spirit scored five goals in back-to-back wins against the same opponent was in 2019 against the Orlando Pride (2-1 in August, 3-0 in October).
Most recently, Washington erased a two-goal deficit on Saturday against the North Carolina Courage only to concede a goal in extra time by Kaleigh Kurtz, resulting in a 3-2 loss. Kurtz’s 92nd minute goal is the latest regular season game winner conceded by Washington in club history.
On the other side, Louisville is on a three-game slide, losing to Angel City, 3-2, last weekend after going scoreless in two straight losses to Kansas City and North Carolina. In addition, the two goals against Angel City were the most scored by Racing Louisville in a regular season loss in club history.
