Washington Spirit Vs Houston Dash: 3 things we learned – No Lavelle, no problem
By Drew Hubbard
On Sunday, the Washington Spirit defeated the Houston Dash 1-0 to close out both team’s preliminary round. Here are three things we learned.
A first-half Bailey Feist goal was all the Washington Spirit needed in a 1-0 win over the Houston Dash to close out both team’s preliminary round. Washington’s early attacking endeavor came to fruition in the 16th minute when Feist received a pass from Ashley Hatch and converted a finish from the edge of the penalty area. It is her first goal of the tournament and Hatch’s first assist.
The Dash fought hard to find an equalizer, pushing hard late in the first half, but Washington held on for a clean sheet and the victory.
Here are three things we learned.
3. Andi Sullivan will be missed
While the Washington Spirit will be more than happy with all three points, a big concern is how they will handle the absence of Andi Sullivan. Sullivan went down in the 51st minute with a leg injury and will miss the rest of the competition.
When it happened, the injury looked nasty. To everyone’s delight, Sullivan came back onto the team bench and gave a thumbs up to USWNT manager Vlatko Andonovski who is at the tournament. While this gave some relief to the Spirit, the team will still have to go without her the rest of the tournament.
Her injury came in a game where Rose Lavelle didn’t appear due to an ankle injury. It is unclear if Lavelle’s injury is serious or precautionary but her absence put a lot of importance on Sullivan in the midfield. For the period she was on the pitch, she thrived against Houston, completing 95% of her passes as the ideal anchor of the team. Her absence, then, is a major worry.