Spirit secure narrow victory over Summit as Harvey reaches historic milestone
Sofia Cantore’s 61st-minute strike lifts Washington Spirit past expansion side Denver Summit, while Seattle Reign coach Laura Harvey becomes first to 100 wins with single club
The Washington Spirit defeated the expansion Denver Summit 1-0 in a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) fixture on Sunday, securing a victory despite the absence of four squad members who were participating in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. Sofia Cantore scored the decisive goal in the 61st minute, tapping in from the underside of the crossbar after an assist from Trinity Rodman.
Rodman, who has contributed to 12 goals over her last 11 matches, was closely marked by U.S. Women’s National Team teammate Lindsey Heaps during the build-up. The defensive pressure on Rodman resulted in yellow cards for Denver’s Ayo Oke and Eva Gaetino. Heaps, making her second appearance for the Summit, nearly equalised late in the second half following a collision with Spirit defenders Tara Rudd and Rebeca Bernal, but a potential penalty call was overturned after video review.
This result marked the second meeting between the Spirit (10-3-3) and the expansion Summit (5-6-4). Their initial encounter in March, which served as Denver’s home opener, drew more than 63,000 fans to set an NWSL single-match attendance record and ended in a scoreless draw. The Spirit’s current squad depth was tested by the international call-ups, yet they maintained their structural integrity to secure the three points.
In other NWSL action on Sunday, Seattle Reign coach Laura Harvey became the first coach in league history to reach 100 wins with the same club. The Reign secured a 2-0 shutout against the San Diego Wave in front of their hometown crowd. Maddie Mercado and Jordyn Bugg scored headers for Seattle, while goalkeeper Claudia Dickey made nine saves to preserve the clean sheet.
Racing Louisville defeated Angel City 2-1 on the road. Rookie Maja Lardner scored her first NWSL goal in the 24th minute and added a second-half header to secure the victory for Louisville (3-10-3). Sveindís Jónsdóttir scored a late consolation goal for Angel City (7-7-1) in the 80th minute.
