Joanna Lohman wasn’t the player expected to score the Washington Spirit’s first two home goals of the season. Lohman, the Spirit’s oldest player, had scored four goals total in the three seasons prior while being a gritty presence in the midfield. In 2009, then-Washington Freedom head coach Jim Gabarra cut Lohman from the Freedom, and the Boston Breakers waived Lohman after the 2014 season. Three minutes into the Spirit’s 2016 season, Lohman scored a bicycle kick against the Breakers, a goal that delivered a win in Gabarra’s first game as Spirit head coach.
“It’s just a testament about how people can grow, improve, and get better,” Lohman told Black and Red United.