Washington ascends to title
Spirit top Chicago 2-1 in OT, become NWSL champions
Kelley O’Hara scored in the 97th minute and the Washington Spirit won the National Women’s Soccer League championship with a 2-1 extra time victory over the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday.
The championship game closes a tumultuous ninth season for the league. The Spirit had to forfeit a pair of games this season because of coronavirus issues. The team played under interim coach Kris Ward after Richie Burke was fired in September for violating the league’s anti-harassment policy.
It was the first league championship for the Spirit, who advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 victory over second-seeded OL Reign.
O’Hara, a defender who was on the U.S. national team that won the World Cup in 2015 and 2019, scored her first goal of the
season. Her game-winning, back-post header came off a pass from Trinity Rodman, the NWSL Rookie of the Year.
Next season, the 10team league will expand to 12 teams with the addition of Angel City FC in Los Angeles and the San Diego Wave. Broadcast on CBS, the game came a day after Nike announced it had extended its sponsorship deal with the league.
MLS Playoffs
Philadelphia 1, N.Y. Red Bulls 0: Jakob Glesnes scored from distance in the 123rd minute and Philadelphia beat
the Red Bulls. The goal helped Philadelphia beat New York in the opening round for the second time in three years — both in extra time. Philadelphia (15-812), the No. 2 seed, was without midfielder Jamiro Monteiro and right back Olivier Mbaizo after being placed into the league’s health and safety protocols. New York (13-13-9), who earned the East’s final playoff spot after closing the season with a 7-1-4 run, was making its 12th consecutive playoff appearance.
Kansas City 3, Vancouver 1:
Nicolas Isimat-Mirin scored his first MLS goal, Graham Zusi added a goal and an assist and Sporting Kansas City beat the Whitecaps in the opening round. Isimat-Mirin tapped in to an empty net from point-blank range to give Sporting a 2-1 lead in first-half stoppage time.