The Washington Spirit raced out to a 2-0 lead, but had to settle for a 2-2 road draw with the Houston Dash. Excellent goals from Paige Nielsen and Tori Huster seemed to set the Spirit up for what would have been a huge road win under the interim leadership of former assistants Kris Ward and Paul Crichton — leading the team after the club reportedly fired Richie Burke after allegations of verbal abuse — but the Dash produced two goals in the final half hour to split the points.
Washington got off to a fast start.