Soccer News: Francisca Ordega Scores in 92nd Minute
The Washington Spirit (3-2-1, 10 points) came out with three points against Sky Blue FC (1-3-2, 5 points) at Maureen Hendricks Field on Saturday night after a twenty-five minute weather delay.
Washington Spirit and Sky Blue FC both had a slow start to the game with chances coming in the first fifteen minutes for Washington Spirit. In the fourth minute, Angela Salem took the first corner of the night for the Spirit and hit a great ball to Lohman whose header hit the post.
Kelsey Wys played an amazing game in the net for the Spirit making nine saves on the night. Constant scrambles in the box during the first half kept Wys busy, but every opportunity by Sky Blue FC was quickly cleared up by Wys and the back line.
Sky Blue FC forward Nadia Nadim was a constant threat in both halves, but was contained by Spirit defenders Whitney Church and Estelle Johnson.
The Washington Spirit made one substitution to start the second half as Laura del Rio replaced Joanna Lohman. Despite making no personnel changes to start the second half, Sky Blue FC came out of the locker room with more attacking fervor than the Spirit. In the 61st minute, the Sky Blue FC midfield slotted a well weighted through ball to Nadim whose shot was stopped at point blank range by Wys.
Sky Blue made two substitutions in the 70th and 75h minute, with Theresa Diederich coming in for Kim DeCesare and Lo’eau LaBonta replacing Kristin Grubka.
In the 83rd minute, Sky Blue made their final sub with Maruschka Waldus making her NWSL debut as the first Dutch player to play in the league.
In the last five minutes of the game, the Spirit pressured the back line of Sky Blue FC creating numerous attacks and chances. With two minutes of stoppage time in the second half, Tori Huster won a tackle in the midfield, allowing the ball to drop to Crystal Dunn. Dunn looked up and saw Francisca Ordega breaking off from her defender.
Sky Blue goalkeeper Brittany Cameron came off her line to clear the ball, but Ordega made a move around the keeper and volleyed the ball into the back of the net in the 92nd minute to secure three points for the Spirit.
Next week the Spirit will head on the road to play the Western New York Flash on Saturday May 23rd at 7:00 p.m.
Washington Spirit season tickets are available now with packages starting as low as $170. Check out all of the phenomenal NWSL soccer at the Maryland SoccerPlex by calling 301-337-8579.
Washington Spirit Lineup
Kelsey Wys; Katherine Reynolds, Megan Oyster, Estelle Johnson, Whitney Church, Tori Huster, Joanna Lohman (Laura Del Rio, 46′), Angela Salem (Amanda Da Costa, 82′), Christine Nairn, Crystal Dunn, Francisca Ordega
Sky Blue FC Lineup
Brittany Cameron, Shawna Gordon, Maya Hayes, Taylor Lytle (Maruschka Waldus, 83′), Nadia Nadim, Katy Freels, Kim DeCesare (Theresa Diederich, 75′) Kristin Grubka (Lo’eau LaBonta, 71′) Hayley Haagsma, Lindi Cutshall, Cami Levin,
