Recap: Spirit Advances to Semifinals for Second Straight Year with Penalty Shootout Win Over Louisville

Washington, D.C. (11/08/2025) – The Washington Spirit advanced to its second-consecutive NWSL semifinal in dramatic fashion, needing penalty kicks to defeat Racing Louisville after a 1-1 draw through regulation and extra time. Rebeca Bernal, Esme Morgan and Hal Hershfelt put through their penalty kicks while Louisville only scored one thanks to two saves by Aubrey Kingsbury to give the Spirit the win.

Saturday’s quarterfinal was played in front of a sold out Audi Field, welcoming 19,215 fans to cheer on the Spirit. The match opened with high energy, with both sides looking to claim possession early. The Spirit generated a promising run of first-half opportunities, applying pressure with multiple looks on goal, though a breakthrough never came. Sofia Cantore recorded three shots, more than any other player on the field. The teams went into the break deadlocked at zero, despite the Spirit taking possession for 73.6% of the first half.

The beginning of the second half saw limited action, with the Spirit registering only one shot on target to start the half. The breakthrough finally came in the 73rd minute when Rosemonde Kouassi delivered a ball from outside the box into the area for Gift Monday, who slotted it into the right corner of the net to give the Spirit a 1-0 lead. Monday has now scored the opening goal in four NWSL matches this season. Some back-and-forth play ensued until Louisville responded in the second minute of second half stoppage time, with Kayla Fischer finishing a pass from Courtney Petersen to level the score at 1-1 and send the match into extra time.

Both teams continued to knock on the doorstep in the first half of extra time with multiple shots each to no avail. A contentious second half of the extra period, including five shots by the Spirit, eventually led to a stalwart, sending the match into penalty kicks.

In a decisive penalty shootout, Louisville began with a successful attempt from Bethany Balcer, matched instantly by Rebeca Bernal for the Spirit. Louisville’s Ellie Jean hit the post on Racing’s second attempt, while Esme Morgan converted with momentum to give the Spirit the edge. Louisville’s response from Marisa DiGrande was denied, and Washington extended its lead when Hal Hershfelt made her shot with confidence. With pressure building on Louisville, Ary Borges stepped up to make the last effort only for Aubrey Kingsbury to deliver the clinching save, securing the shootout victory for the Spirit.

Next up, the Spirit will host the winner of tomorrow’s Portland Thorns FC-San Diego Wave FC quarterfinal match at Audi Field next weekend in the NWSL semifinals. Full schedule details for next weekend’s matches will be announced soon. Ticketing information can be found here.

-NWSL Match Report- 

Match: Washington Spirit vs. Racing Louisville FC 

Date: Saturday, November 8, 2025 

Venue: Audi Field (Washington, D.C.) 

Kickoff: 12 p.m. EST 

Weather: Sunny, high-60s 

Scoring Summary: 

Goals 
1 
2 
ET 
PKs 
F 

Washington 
0 
1 
0 
3 
1 (3) 

Louisville 
0 
1 
0 
1 
1 (1) 

WAS – Gift Monday – 73′ (assisted by Rosemonde Kouassi) 

WAS – Kayla Fischer – 90+2′ (assisted by Courtney Petersen) 

Lineups: 

WAS: 1 – Aubrey Kingsbury; 14 – Gabby Carle (6 – Kate Wiesner, 33’); 9 – Tara McKeown (25 – Kysha Sylla, 105+2’); 4 – Rebeca Bernal; 24 – Esme Morgan; 19 – Rosemonde Kouassi (26 – Paige Metayer, 82’); 7 – Croix Bethune; 17 – Hal Hershfelt; 10 – Leicy Santos (5 – Narumi Miura, 88’); 27 – Sofia Cantore; 21 – Gift Monday (13 – Brittany Ratcliffe, 88’) 

Unused Substitutes: 28 – Sandy MacIver; 2 – Trinity Rodman; 16 – Courtney Brown; 22 – Heather Stainbrook 

LOU: 24 – Jordyn Bloomer; 16 – Janine Sonis (88 – Bethany Balcer, 90+1’); 3 – Arin Wright; 5 – Ellie Jean; 2 – Lauren Milliet; 8 – Ary Borges; 20 – Katie O’Kane (14 – Marisa DiGrande, 85’); 26 – Taylor Flint; 6 – Ella Hase (11 – Courtney Petersen, 85’); 42 – Sarah Weber (9 – Kayla Fischer, 66’); 13 – Emma Sears 

Unused Substitutes: 77 – Madison White; 12 – Allie George; 17 – Maddie Pokorny; 32 – Avery Kalitta 

Stats Summary: WAS / LOU 

Shots: 20 / 26 

Shots On Goal: 8 / 8 

Saves: 7 / 7 

Fouls: 11 / 13 

Offsides: 2 / 1 

Misconduct Summary: 

WAS – Esme Morgan – 87’ – Yellow Card 

LOU – Ary Borges – 90+9’ – Yellow Card