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Spirit beat Boston Breakers 1-0 in season opener

A bicycle kick from Joanna Lohman lifts the Spirit to a 1-0 win in the first game of the 2016 NWSL season

The Washington Spirit kicked off the first game of the historic fourth season of the NWSL on Saturday, April 16. Maryland native Joanna Lohman scored a bicycle kick within three minutes of kickoff to propel her side to an early lead over the visiting Boston Breakers. The Spirit held on to Lohman's early tally to outlast their physical opponents and win 1-0.

Washington Spirit Starting XI: Stephanie Labbe, Ali Krieger, Megan Oyster, Shelina Zadorsky, Caprice Dydasco; Tori Huster, Joanna Lohman, Christine Nairn; Crystal Dunn, Katie Stengel (Cali Farquharson 64'), Estefania Banini (Diana Matheson 75')

Two of the Spirit's three Canadian internationals started despite missing most of the past two weeks of preseason for two games against the Netherlands.