Trinity Rodman scored in the seventh minute and added a late assist in the visiting Washington Spirit’s 3-0 victory over the Chicago Stars on Sunday.
In the day’s other National Women’s Soccer League matches, the Houston Dash edged the Boston Legacy 2-1, Angel City FC shut out the Utah Royals 3-0, and Bay FC defeated Racing Louisville 2-0.
Rodman provided an early spark, lifting a shot over Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher in the seventh minute. She sealed
the win 78 minutes later, sending a lofted cross to Tamara Bolt’s head for Washington’s final goal.
Andi Sullivan doubled the Spirit’s lead from the penalty spot in the 34th minute after Chicago’s Bea Franklin was called for a handball in the box. Sullivan placed the kick into the bottom left corner.
Chicago (5-18-2) outshot Washington 5-4 despite the Spirit (14-7-4) controlling nearly 60% of possession.
The Houston Dash snapped a four-game winless streak with a 2-1 victory over the Boston Legacy at Centreville Bank Stadium in Rhode Island.
Sunday’s match was Houston’s first under interim head coach Jaime Frias.
Kylah Harper delivered the winning ball to Messiah Bright in the 85th minute. Bright’s header slipped past goalkeeper Casey Murphy for her first goal of the season.
Boston (7-13-5) kept the pressure on Houston (8-12-5) throughout the match, forcing Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell to make 10 saves.
Houston opened the scoring in the 44th minute when Danielle Colaprico capitalized on a frenzy in the box and put the loose ball past Murphy.
The Legacy equalized 15 minutes later. Nicki Hernández fired a cross toward Aïssata Traoré, who, playing on a yellow card, beat the Dash defenders to the ball and scored for the fifth consecutive game.
Utah (13-9-3) was left severely short-handed against Angel City after defender Paige Cronin and midfielder Ana Tejada were ejected by the 24th minute.
Two minutes later, Ally Sentnor converted the resulting penalty kick past goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn to put Angel City (11-8-6) ahead in Sandy, Utah.
Just two minutes after coming off the bench for the second half, Taylor Suarez made it 2-0 with a one-touch finish off a pass from Gisele Thompson.
Sveindís Jónsdóttir capped the scoring in the 67th minute, dispossessing Tatumn Milazzo deep in Utah territory before rolling a shot past McGlynn’s right side.
Despite a slow start in San Jose, California, Bay FC scored twice in the opening 11 minutes of the second half to defeat Racing Louisville 2-0.
Bay (7-13-5) broke through in the 50th minute when Alex Pfeiffer converted a cross from Racheal Kundananji after Kundananji won the ball. Six minutes later, Racing Louisville (7-16-2) failed to clear another Kundananji cross, allowing Karlie Lema to finish.
The match also featured two milestones for Bay. Goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz recorded her 100th save of the season in the 82nd minute, becoming the sixth player in league history to reach the mark in a single season. Maddie Moreau made her 50th appearance for the club when she entered as a substitute in the 84th minute.
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