Arguably the two most improved teams in the NWSL face off tonight as the Washington Spirit start the 2018 season with a long trip out west to face Seattle Reign FC. It’s not an ideal assignment for Washington, as Seattle has historically been their most difficult opponent. The Spirit have lost every single time they’ve played the Reign away from home, and often the games have not been close.
But these are different times for Washington, with this winter’s rebuild feeling for all the world like the start of a new era. Is that enough for the Spirit change their stars in Seattle?