By Amelia Hirtle
The NWSL Championship took place at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. More than 10,000 fans filled the stadium and witnessed a thriller that ended in extra time with a Washington Spirit 2-1 win over the Chicago Red Stars. The Red Stars are no stranger to championship games. In 2019, they lost in the NWSL final to the North Carolina Courage. In 2020, they lost the Challenge Cup to the Houston Dash.
Things didn’t go as planned for Chicago from the beginning. The team lost Vanessa DiBernardo to injury in the 14th minute. The Red Stars were already down, Kealia Watt and Casey Krueger coming into the match. In stoppage time of the first half Mallory Pugh went down. The injury provided some time for Chicago to settle. Arin Wright burned Kelley O’Hara down the sideline and sent a ball in to Rachel Hill who used her head to put the ball in the back of the net.
Unfortunately, Pugh did not return to the pitch for the second half, leaving Chicago with a diminished attack. The tempo started to pick up for the Spirit in the second half and it only increased when Chicago defender Tierna Davidson fouled Washington player for a penalty. Andi Sullivan converted the penalty to level the score.
As the momentum built from Trinity Rodman and the Washington attack, Chicago scrambled to counter. The game was tied after regulation, sending it to two 15-minute halves. The go-ahead goal for Washington came in the 6th minute of extra time. Rodman sent a long ball into O’Hara who slipped in behind her defender. The Chicago keeper leapt up in an attempt to save the header, but she was unsuccessful. The Red Stars had a few chances to equalize in the final minutes, but Spirit keeper Aubrey Bledsoe made some key saves to keep her team ahead.
After the game, Chicago players spoke of their disappointment but also their willingness to come back strong and win for the team and Chicago.