It speaks to the depth of the Washington Spirit’s revamped roster that Ashley Hatch, the forward who had paced the team in goals every year since her 2018 arrival, has come off the bench and played out of position for much of the season.
But with leading scorer Ouleymata Sarr sidelined by a lumbar issue for the Houston Dash’s visit to Audi Field on Sunday afternoon, Hatch started in her natural striker role for the first time since the Spirit’s season-opening loss at Seattle in March.
The result? A vintage two-goal performance by Hatch, who scored on a powerful strike from the penalty spot and a clever redirection in the Spirit’s 3-0 win.