Ashley Hatch needed just 12 minutes for her first shot of the Washington Spirit’s match Friday night against Bay FC. She got on the end of midfielder Narumi Miura’s free kick into the box, but her header attempt flew wide.
She didn’t take long to make up for the miss. The Spirit striker headed in two goals in a four-minute span in the first half to give Washington a 2-0 win before a crowd of 12,140 at Audi Field.
The eight-year veteran came close to her first professional hat trick but settled for her ninth career brace and moved into fifth among the NWSL’s all-time leading scorers.