Ashley Sanchez barely made it out of the tunnel for warmups when she received her first hug. The North Carolina Courage forward, who spent four years and won a NWSL championship with the Washington Spirit, had returned to Audi Field on a muggy Saturday night. An early-arriving fan shouted, “We miss you, Ashley!” And when Sanchez was introduced before the game, the crowd welcomed her with a hearty roar.
Those cheers were more muted in the 19th minute, when Sanchez, now wearing the Courage’s highlighter pink kits, ripped a blast past Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury from just outside the box.