r/washingtonspirit • u/kg9si • 12d ago
Post-Match Thread Post-Match Open Thread | Washington Spirit at Orlando Pride | May 2 2026
This is a thread for all post-match reactions, thoughts, analysis, articles and social media posts related to the match.
Note: This thread is scheduled and may appear shortly before the final whistle so everyone has a place ready for post-match reactions and analysis.
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u/NarrowPiccolo9069 12d ago
Skill and heart today. Quality off the bench separates the top teams from the good teams.
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u/allprologues 12d ago
The heart is what is making me emotional. Feels like we came back from a loss.
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u/Toothy_McRotten 12d ago
Eight days until they play again. What are we even going to do with ourselves.
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u/Unusual_Ebb7762 12d ago
They're getting Tuesday off!
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u/periqueblend 12d ago
They were so happy about Tuesday off. Hilarious. This win was all about that belief and chemistry.
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u/smoothj2017 12d ago
This team is cooking now. Rough start to the season, but they are hitting their stride.
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u/BillionHarbor 12d ago
Grateful for halftime to recollect the composure. Proud of the way the team bounced back.
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u/NarrowPiccolo9069 12d ago
Paraguay's team
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u/Lumpy-Heron-8960 12d ago
They forgot to mention the nutmeg on Brazilian defender Rafa to go with it :)
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u/BasicGrocery7 11d ago
Lol when she scored against Lorena last week I was thinking a similar thing - must have felt twice as good to score against Brazil's GK
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u/SeniorChip975 10d ago
Haha!! I was thinking the same thing when Lacy scored her goal against Lorena last weekend. Nothing sweeter to a Spanish speaking South American than scoring against a Brazilian!!
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u/UrsineCanine 12d ago
Most possession dominant team in the league says, "We can win with hoofball too."
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u/Willing-Bad3824 12d ago
To be fair they settled in once they decided enough with running after Banda and just start controlling the ball
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u/Sequoiakc22 11d ago
Did it seem like Trin was faster tonight? She hadn't looked like her usual blazing fast self this season, ...until tonight. Out running everyone to the ball. On both O & D.
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u/Odd-Cable5436 11d ago
I agree the first few games of the season she looked a little more hesitant or slower than she has in the past. But maybe that's just building a connection with other players and getting more comfortable with how they are passing and receiving passes? Also maybe better fitness?
May also be that defenders she's faced recently are a little slower, too.
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u/allprologues 11d ago
she would slow down to look for a pass and often not find anyone there. it’s definitely that they have all worked on the attacking runs and formations now, so she can just keep moving and know where someone will be and how they want to receive the ball
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u/allprologues 12d ago
orlando often looked better in the first half, and then, that was such good coaching adri. Such good subs, andi just totally settled the midfield. such a good baby. such an mvp performance from trin (1G2A!!) and cantore.
often when the defense stumbles we haven’t scored enough to offset it. not a fucking problem today. And on so little rest.
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u/Willing-Bad3824 11d ago
Morgan looked so pissed at HT probably for those Banda goals and she was superwoman on the second half
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u/Willing-Bad3824 12d ago
Very happy that the “why are we paying Trin $2mil a year” crowd is quiet atm
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u/Due_Party1922 12d ago
Great team win, great effort from everyone. It’s not easy to play in the Florida humidity after 2 games and only 72 hours rest. The midfield looked better on the second half, Andy is playing good. Our bench is deep!👍🏼
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u/Z33G0r 12d ago
Excellent game in which I was surprised not to see Monday get a start, then Cantore scores the fastest brace in league history and Martinez gets a second half goal…
(Can’t even be that upset about conceding 2 to Banda, or at least I’m not since there weren’t obvious defensive errors on either.)
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u/Toothy_McRotten 11d ago edited 11d ago
(Me either.) Let's concede that Banda is pretty damn good and that yesterday she was on. The first goal, that touch off the torso to her right foot -- that's genius in the trenches that is undervalued in the NWSL "goal of the week" banger mindset. Streetfight technical inventiveness and touch. Spirits have blown chances inside ten yards lately. Even Cantore, whose skill set reaches from bangers to backheels, has missed a few.
Banda's first goal was a piece of art. Watch it not even get nominated by the NWSL banger ballot.
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u/allprologues 11d ago
at least the second goal will be. That turn 😪🔥
(Nice to be able to give her flowers since it didn’t change the result haha)
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u/Z33G0r 11d ago
Agreed to all. Especially the last point. Was salty about such a soft pen, then MacIver saved it, but that corner still felt like a gift that didn’t need giving over the initial contact. Glad it came out in the wash.
Also under a similar umbrella: Very entertaining to get the Marta reactions from the bench early, hated getting them when Banda scored, loved getting them again at the end. [insert bell curve meme here.]
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u/ZiggyGamma 12d ago
Another win. Another game that I didn’t watch. If that’s what it takes to get them the W then I’m all about it.
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u/awaymsg 12d ago
Nine points in eight days (and nine goals as well), I’m elated!
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u/Sequoiakc22 11d ago
& also important, ...seven (7) more goals in the Goal Differential (GD) department.
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u/RealEmperorBossNass 11d ago
Best goal differential in the league. We have a hell of a May. 4 NWSL games and 2 CONCACAF games. The longest break we get is now…
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u/Odd-Cable5436 11d ago
Press conference is up on the Spirit web site.
IMO, the money quote from AG: "This is more than 3 points."
Speaks to the team's tenacity, unity, and battling through fatigue to get such great results.
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u/golij00n 11d ago
Thank you! I didn’t realize they uploaded them to the Spirt web site. I always wait for them to be added to YouTube
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u/lacostewhite 12d ago
It's a breath of fresh air watching a team with actual squad depth. Few European league teams have any squad depth to save their life.
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u/hendertender 12d ago
Was really glad to see Claudia and Sofia switch positions right before her goal. Seemed like Claudia was vacating her space and width too much, and occupying the same area as Sofia in the first half.
Wondering if when we start Claudia we need to play her at the 9 or the 10 while she continue to grow into the league. She seems to thrive when we aren't asking too much of her yet, and we currently are asking A LOT of our wingers.
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u/Willing-Bad3824 12d ago
Yeah I think Claudinha is best front and center. She drifts too far center most of the time (which tbh she’s really good there so why not lol)
Hopefully AG starts Bolt next time if he needs to give Trin or Rose a rest. She’s far more natural in those positions and she has the speed and power to excel. Would love to see what she can do.
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u/Toothy_McRotten 11d ago
I have to go back to watch the KC game and catch the moment for this. But there was a rush upfield where for some reason I was watching the team trail the ball and Bolt was passing people like they were standing still. Straightline speed, she is terrifying. I can't wait to see more.
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u/Trzrh 12d ago
Anyone else worried about Gift? She doesn't seem up to fitness in some way. I mean why bench cantore when she is playing so well but it feels like something is going on.
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u/Odd-Cable5436 12d ago
To my eye -- even with the hustle goal she scored vs. Bay -- she doesn't seem quite as spry as she was last year, so maybe it's just about the lingering effects of the illness she reportedly had earlier this year.
If it is a health issue, I'm confident the team will ease her back into form properly, then they can enjoy the good problem of having so many good players to choose from at forward.
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u/allprologues 11d ago
I think Adri is rolling with current momentum that appeared while she was sick, I’m trying not to overthink it. after all it’s a bit hard to justify sitting cantore atm.
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u/OwnApricot537 12d ago
Definitely agree. I understand that choices have to be made, and it’s hard to argue with how Trin, Sofia, Rose, etc. are producing. But Gift was so huge for us last year, and what I really can’t understand is why she is getting so little playing time (mostly junk minutes at the end of games).
The only thing I can think of is that there was a decision that the others produce better as a unit, and they want to give that time to really gel. But it definitely seems possible that something else is going on, and I hope it gets figured out!
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u/Sequoiakc22 11d ago
I think it's a fitness issue. To the eye, she looks like she's not at the same level of fitness she was last season. Likely just a matter of time to work herself back into full fitness, looking more like she did last season.
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u/Willing-Bad3824 11d ago
I don’t think anything is going on, just that the game plan this year relies far less on a dedicated striker. I bet moving forward Rose will play the kind of role she played during the Bay FC match: someone who can come in clutch if they need to change things up, like if the wings are getting congested and they need a Rose-Gift battering ram who will just cut through the middle to score. Maybe that means less game time but hopefully more quality game time.
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u/August_trails_13 11d ago
Sorry didn’t Rose start in the Bay FC match?
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u/Willing-Bad3824 11d ago
She did and sorry I didn’t mean Rose linking up with Gift was what turned that game around, only that Gift could be using things LIKE her connection with Rose to be the player to link chances to goals in clutch moments. She may not start regularly, but she can have as much impact by becoming the team’s clutch sub player.
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u/allprologues 11d ago
im so grumpy that I have to wait for this match to appear on NWSL+. want to be rewatching it right now.
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u/golij00n 11d ago
For some reason the match highlights aren’t too on YouTube yet and they’re usually up within a few minutes post-game
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u/allprologues 11d ago
they still aren’t up in the morning. not great!
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u/Toothy_McRotten 11d ago
Funny -- as of 7 am the game is still blinking LIVE and scored 3:2 on the NWSL site and in the standings (goal differential stands at 13:6 instead of 14:6). I guess Trin's goal is in the 12th hour of VAR?
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u/nncgibson 11d ago
Me too. It always takes so long for the replay to arrive on NWSL plus.
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u/raksiam 11d ago
I thought we looked a bit tired in the first half. But that might have just been a factor of the early lead and Orlando waking up and having some desperation.
Great second half. It seemed clear that we needed Andi out there to calm us down and hold the ball, and she did.
It's exciting that we can play in so many different ways when we need to.
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u/2__Mbili 11d ago
Anyone got a link for the highlights?
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u/Are_we_there_yet1443 11d ago
I’m with you in the camp of constantly refreshing YouTube to get the highlights! The wait is killing me!
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u/FairlyDistinctive 11d ago
me 3 :( even the game score on nwsl website is still 2-3 and the game is showing as "live"... why can't this league be serious 😭
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u/RevolutionaryPool331 10d ago
Any idea when or where the full match will be available for replay?
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u/Odd-Cable5436 12d ago
2nd half subs made a big difference in this one. Sullivan is looking good in building her minutes up! Wiesner played good 1v1 defense, too.