Trinity Rodman has made history. She is now the youngest player in NWSL history to surpass the mark of 100 regular-season appearances. The milestone was achieved after scoring the lone point for her team, the Washington Spirit, in the match against the Utah Royals.
The Spirit will next head to Denver for the Summit’s home opener game, while the Royals head to Foxborough to take on the Boston Legacy.
Washington Spirit vs. Utah Royals (1-1 draw)
On Wednesday, March 25, the Washington Spirit settled for a draw with Utah Royals FC at Audi Field. Both teams showcased a dominant performance. Midfielder Rebeca Bernal scored her first goal after joining the Spirit last year, but the team got a late equaliser before the final whistle.
Wednesday night’s match started with high energy. In the 4th minute, Deborah Abiodun makes an immediate impact while diving into the box. Utah’s Cece Delzer then finds a header but ends up with no advantage. The Spirit later in the 18th minute gains momentum with Rebeca Bernal making a shot and finds the back of the net to give Spirit the lead by 1-0.
Utah struck back quickly, and Lucia Di Guglielmo scored the goal in the box. Abiodun plays for an open shot in the box, but Rodman misses it. The match goes into halfway and Sandy MacIver makes a crucial save to keep the Spirit in a good position.
The second half started with Spirit dominating the possession and performing with a minimal defensive third. In the 57th minute, Rosemonde Kouassi made an open shot as Spirit wanted a lead but could not score. Some minutes later, Cantore got another corner for the Spirit, but Utah successfully restricted it.
In the 84th minute, Utah tied the score through Mina Tanaka’s goal. The final ten minutes ended with both teams tied at the same score.
The Spirit is next headed to travel to Colorado for the first time for a home-away match against Denver Summit FC scheduled on Saturday, March 28. The match will take place at Empower Field at Mile High, and is expected to break the audience record of the NWSL’s single-match, with over 50,000 tickets already sold. The match will begin at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on the CBS Sports channel.
