{"id":5395,"date":"2026-11-01T21:55:49","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T21:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/?p=5395"},"modified":"2026-11-03T22:33:55","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T22:33:55","slug":"spirit-finish-strong-against-chicago-to-secure-home-playoff-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/?p=5395","title":{"rendered":"Spirit Finish Strong Against Chicago to Secure Home Playoff Match"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Story and photos by Shawn Payne
Match Date: November 1, 2026
Venue: Audi Field, Washington, D.C.
League: National Women\u2019s Soccer League (NWSL)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Washington Spirit returned to Audi Field on Sunday with playoff positioning at stake and an opportunity to carry momentum into the postseason, welcoming Chicago Stars FC for a regular-season finale in front of a sold-out home crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Washington<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Washington<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Washington<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Washington entered the evening looking to respond to a 2\u20131 road defeat against the Kansas City Current. The Spirit had already beaten Chicago 3\u20130 in September, but the visitors arrived with their own motivation to finish a difficult season positively after losing 3\u20131 to Houston in their previous outing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first half offered chances without a breakthrough. Sandy MacIver denied Chicago\u2019s Mallory Swanson, while Alyssa Naeher kept out Ashley Hatch after Trinity Rodman supplied a cross. Chicago held a narrow 9\u20138 advantage in shots at the break, keeping the contest competitive despite the teams\u2019 contrasting seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Washington<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Washington<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Washington<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Washington introduced Clara Luvanga and Tamara Bolt at halftime, and the breakthrough arrived in the 62nd minute when Lucia Di Guglielmo forced an own goal from Chicago defender Michelle Alozie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodman provided the finishing touch in the 85th minute, meeting Luvanga\u2019s cross with a first-time finish for her 12th goal of the season. Chicago continued to push, finishing with advantages in both total shots, 19\u201318, and shots on target, 4\u20133, but could not find a way through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Washington<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Washington<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Washington<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Spirit protected their lead through ten minutes of stoppage time, completing their 12th clean sheet before 19,322 supporters. The result secured the No. 3 seed and a home quarterfinal for a third consecutive season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Washington<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Washington<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Washington<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Washington will host Portland Thorns FC at Audi Field on Sunday, November 8, at 3 p.m. EST, with the regular-season finale providing a winning platform for the postseason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Score: Washington Spirit 2\u20130 Chicago Stars FC
Goals: Michelle Alozie, 62\u2032 (own goal); Trinity Rodman, 85\u2032.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch Game Highlights: Washington Spirit vs. Chicago Stars FC<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Story and photos by Shawn PayneMatch Date: November 1, 2026Venue: Audi Field, Washington, D.C.League: National Women\u2019s Soccer League (NWSL) The Washington Spirit returned to Audi Field on Sunday with playoff positioning at stake and an opportunity to carry momentum into the postseason, welcoming Chicago Stars FC for a regular-season finale in front of a sold-out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5397,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":3,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,136],"tags":[40,170,36,37],"class_list":["post-5395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nwsl","category-womens-soccer","tag-audi-field","tag-chicago-stars","tag-nwsl","tag-washington-spirit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5395"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5398,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5395\/revisions\/5398"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}