​Leicy Santos and Trinity Rodman each found the net as the Washington Spirit secured their third consecutive victory with a 2-0 win over the North Carolina Courage on Saturday night. In the only other National Women’s Soccer League matchup, Angel City defeated the San Diego Wave by 2-0.
Santos opened the scoring in the 37th minute, meeting a cross from Kate Wiesner in the box and volleying it into the goal. The Spirit, now 8-3-2, extended their advantage in first-half stoppage time when Rodman delivered a long-range strike from Tara Rudd to make it 2-0. The Courage briefly threatened in the 50th minute when Ashley Sanchez appeared to pull a goal back from a free kick, but the effort was disallowed after a video review showed Shinomi Koyama encroaching within a yard of the Spirit wall. Washington’s goalkeeper Sandy MacIver earned one save to secure her sixth clean sheet of the season. The loss ended North Carolina’s four-match winning streak and left them at 6-4-3.
In California, Maiara Niehues scored for the fourth consecutive match, and Ary Borges added another as Angel City defeated the league-leading Wave at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium, 2-0. After Luisa Agudelo failed to collect the ball, Niehues beat defender Perle Morroni to head it home for the 1-0 lead in the 17th minute. A long throw from Sveindís Jónsdóttir found Borges, who finished to make it 2-0 in the 26th minute. Angel City’s attack was temporarily disrupted when Jun Endo exited the pitch with a noncontact injury in the 33rd minute, visibly shaken. Borges later earned a penalty for the Wave in the 86th minute when she brought down Kimmi Ascanio in the box, but Lia Godfrey’s spot kick hit the post. Angelina Anderson recorded six saves for Angel City to post her fourth clean sheet of the season, while San Diego’s shutout run ended at 242 minutes.