The Washington Spirit bounced back from a loss last week in a confident 2-0 win over the North Carolina Courage. Ashley Hatch scored twice before halftime as the Spirit broke a four-game Courage winning streak, beating NC for just the second time ever before 4,929 at Audi Field.
Richie Burke made just one change to his lineup, with Anna Heilferty taking over at right back for the Olympics-bound Julia Roddar. Unlike last week, though, the Spirit took control and broke the visitors down straight from the start. A 4th minute cross from the left trickled across to Dorian Bailey, whose point-blank shot was saved by Casey Murphy.