Ashley Hatch flirted with a hat trick for the Washington Spirit, while Bay FC had a pair of goals waved off and fell Friday night, 2-0.
Hatch headed home both her goals in a three-minute span midway through the first half, providing all the firepower Washington would need to hand Bay FC (1-1-1) its first defeat of the season. The Spirit (2-0-1) opened a 1-0 advantage in the 24th minute, with an assist from Leicy Santos, and extended it to 2-0 in the 27th minute after Narumi Miura was awarded a free kick on a foul by Asisat Oshoala and found Hatch, who used her head again to best goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz.
“We knew we could get the ball wide and get some crosses in,” Hatch told the Amazon Prime broadcast after the game.
Silkowitz hadn’t surrendered more than one goal through Bay’s first two matches. Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury also let a pair of shots past her but instead handed Bay FC its first shutout of the season.
Trailing 2-0 at halftime, coach Albertin Montoya made a pair of substitutions looking to boost Bay’s offensive attack that looked to pay off in the 59th minute when Racheal Kundananji, one of the second-half subs, cleared the way for rookie Taylor Huff to streak up the middle of the field.
Huff, who will join the U.S. Women’s Under-23 National Team next week, found the back of the net for what would have been the first goal of her NWSL career. But it was waved off upon review, as officials called Kundananji for a foul for taking Gabrielle Carle to the ground.
Bay FC appeared to get on the board again in the 87th minute, when Oshoala converted a cross from Huff but was whistled offsides.
In four all-time meetings, Bay FC has yet to beat the Spirit.