WASHINGTON — The Washington Spirit won't have to play their NWSL semifinal at Northwest Stadium after all.
Hours after the Spirit beat the Portland Thorns 4-1 at Audi Field in a quarterfinal match on Sunday, Nov. 8, the NWSL announced that the Spirit's semifinal against the Utah Royals on Saturday, Nov. 14 would take place at Audi Field.
The Spirit were expected to move the match to Northwest Stadium, home of the NFL's Washington Commanders, due to a scheduling conflict.
Audi Field had previously been booked on Nov. 14 for an NCAA Division III college football game between the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
The football game, known as the Secretaries' Cup, was scheduled for a 1 p.m. local time kickoff, but will be
moved as the Spirit-Royals game is set for a noon kickoff.
There was no immediate word on the fate of the Secretaries' Cup game.
Why were the Spirit set to move their semifinal?
The Spirit are tenants at Audi Field, which is owned by MLS team D.C. United.
The management of Audi Field booked the Secretaries' Cup several months in advance, before the Spirit or D.C. United knew their playoff fates.
But thanks to some last-minute movement behind the scenes, the Spirit will be able to return to "Rowdy Audi" for a decisive semifinal match.
“We’re excited to host our semifinal at Audi Field next Saturday,” said Washington Spirit CEO Kim Stone. “Thanks to the collaboration of D.C. United and the generosity of Lafayette Federal Credit Union, who stepped forward to underwrite the additional costs necessary to bring this semifinal match home. Let’s sell out Audi Field for the sixth straight playoff game!”
Should the Spirit defeat Utah, they would return home to Audi Field for the NWSL championship game on Nov. 21.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Washington Spirit NWSL semifinal moved back to Audi Field after scheduling conflict
