The Washington Spirit earned the right to host a postseason game at Audi Field. Courtesy of Fredo Vasquez
By Fredo Vasquez
As the regular soccer season came to a close in October, Audi Field witnessed a tale of two vastly different outcomes for its resident teams. The Washington Spirit and D.C. United wrapped up their respective seasons, with one team soaring to playoff contention and the other left lamenting what might have been.
The Washington Spirit, representing the city in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), ended their regular season on a high note. On October 20, the Spirit clinched a spot in the playoffs with a commanding 2-0 victory over the Chicago Red Stars. An injury-plagued Spirit relied on its rookies Heather Stainbrook and Makenna Morris to score the winning goals. With this victory, the Spirit clinched home-field advantage during the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the NWSL playoffs. The season represented a remarkable achievement for Spirit’s coach Jonatan Giráldez, who joined the Spirit mid-year after ending his tenure as the head coach of Barcelona FC’s women’s team. Now, the Spirit shift their focus to the playoffs, where they’ll hope to carry this momentum deep into the postseason.
On the other hand, D.C. United’s final game of the season on October 21 against Charlotte FC ended in heartbreak. United only needed a tie to secure a playoff spot in Major League Soccer and end a five-year long playoff drought. Sadly, a 3-0 loss at home dashed their postseason hopes. While United’s attack struggled to find the back of the net, Charlotte FC capitalized on United’s defensive lapses. On a positive note, D.C. United forward Christian Benteke was awarded the Golden Boot as he finished the regular season on top of the league’s scorer’s board with 23 goals, three more than Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. Benteke also tied the D.C. United’s record for top scorer in a regular season.
With the Spirit looking ahead to playoff glory and D.C. United reflecting on what went wrong, Audi Field remains a hub of passion and energy, making Southwest and Buzzard Point a hot spot for lovers of the beautiful game. All local soccer fans will now rally behind the Spirit as they begin their chase for a second championship on November 10 at 12:30 p.m. at Audi Field. Tickets can be purchased at https://washingtonspirit.com/tickets/.