The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-08)

SUNDAY, MAY 8 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 D5

Soccer

BY STEVEN GOFF

The Washington Spirit on Sat-
urday lost to the North Carolina
Courage in an injury-marred
Challenge Cup final, 2-1, ending a
20 -game u nbeaten streak in com-
petitive matches dating from Au-
gust.
Concern afterward, though, fo-
cused on two Washington p layers
involved in frightening incidents
in the second half at WakeMed
Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
Aubrey Kingsbury, the Nation-
al Women’s Soccer League’s best
goalkeeper last season, smashed
the side of her head into the post
trying to prevent the winning
goal in the 70 th minute. She
remained in the game after re-
ceiving medical treatment but
was scheduled to undergo addi-
tional evaluation.
And early in 12 minutes of
stoppage time, substitute Jordan
Baggett required urgent atten-

tion after appearing to suffer a

head or neck injury in a chal-

lenge. Players from both teams

immediately waved for medical

assistance, then four Spirit play-

ers helped a technician rush a

stretcher onto the field.

Baggett, who was conscious as

she was wheeled to an ambu-

lance, “has been taken to the

hospital and is under evaluation,”

a team spokeswoman said, add-

ing no details were available

right away.

Spirit owner Michele Kang

went to the hospital to check on

Baggett, a fourth-year midfielder

from Stanford. Coach Kris Ward

did not share specifics about

Baggett or the play. “We’ll have

her checked out, but that’s all I

know, unfortunately,” he said.

The league did not make any

Washington players available to

comment.

Courage Coach Sean Nahas

called it a “pretty scary s ituation.”

The injuries brought a chaotic

and bruising end to the pre-

season tournament, which over-

lapped with the start of the

regular season last weekend.

North Carolina suffered a scare

just before the winning goal,

when its new Brazilian standout,

Kerolin, required a ssistance after

a dangerous tackle from behind

by Sam Staab.

The fatigue of playing several

games early in the season seemed

to take its toll on the players.

Many seemed exhausted, and on

several occasions, players needed

treatment.

“There continues to be talk

from coaches and league person-

nel about how we can adjust the

Cup, how we can make it the best

thing possible,” Ward said. “I just

think there is a lot of different

forces at play sometimes, and in

the interim, as we continue [to]

try to grow this, we have to do the

best job we can.”

The defeat ended the Spirit’s

12-0-8 run, discounting two for-

feits for violations of the league’s

pandemic protocols in Septem-

ber, and prevented a second tro-

phy in six months after it won its

first NWSL title in November.

The Courage was superior most

of the afternoon, finishing the

competition with a 5-0-3 record.

Winning players earned a

$10,000 bonus, while their coun-

terparts received $5,000 — nota-

ble payments in a fledgling

league in which the minimum

base salary is $35,000.

North Carolina went ahead in

the 10 th minute on a sensational

run by its returning Brazilian

star, Debinha, and a sweet goal by

Kerolin from 15 yards.

Kingsbury prevented further

damage with an outstanding save

on Emily Gray, and Debinha’s

one-timer bumped the near post.

Spirit defender Emily Sonnett’s

handball wasn’t called — the

second consecutive game Wash-

ington dodged a penalty kick.

The equalizer came in the

35 th minute. Trinity Rodman’s

through ball led Ashley Hatch in

stride for a 10-yard one-timer to

the far corner for her tourna-

ment-best sixth goal and seventh

in seven games against North

Carolina, her previous club.

The Courage had an opportu-

nity to go ahead midway through

the second half, but Diana Or-

doñez, unmarked six yards out,

miskicked Debinha’s cross. Mo-

ments later, Staab got away with

taking down Kerolin in the box.

(The NWSL does not use video

assistant referees.)

With Kerolin being treated

during the ensuing corner kick,

Ordoñez’s deflection caromed off

Washington’s Taylor Aylmer. A

diving Kingsbury wasn’t able to

prevent the own goal and

crashed into the post in the

process. She was down for several

minutes.

“It seemed like she was okay

and responsive to the initial [con-

cussion] test,” said Ward, adding

that additional evaluation would

be necessary to “see if there i s any

delayed onset of symptoms.”

Notes: Andi Sullivan, the Spir-

it’s standout midfielder, re-

mained s idelined with a calf i nju-

ry. She has been out since U. S.

national team duty April 9 -12....

Washington will resume the

regular season next Sunday at

Audi Field against Angel City FC,

an expansion team from Los

Angeles.

Washington’s unbeaten streak ends in injury-marred Cup final

COURAGE 2,

SPIRIT 1

Angel City FC at Spirit

May 15, 5 p.m., Paramount Plus

PHOTOS BY TONY QUINN FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

D.C. United attacker Taxi Fountas, right, scored twice Saturday against the Dynamo. Russell Canouse said after the game that the Greek forward “has a killer instinct.”

BY STEVEN GOFF

Since he arrived last month,
Taxi Fountas has been well re-
ceived by his new team, D.C. Unit-
ed. Despite speaking little Eng-
lish, the Greek attacker is forging
strong bonds with coaches and
teammates. And on the field, he
has performed with a level of
class that has lifted the spirits of
the struggling team and provided
a pair of critical home victories.
In the cold and rain and wind
Saturday night at Audi Field,
Fountas gave another two-goal,
first-half performance as United
rebounded from a three-goal
thumping last weekend to defeat
the Houston Dynamo, 2-0, before
an announced 15,194.
The team’s marquee signing
and highest-paid player used ter-
rific technique on a one-timer
from the top of the box in the
35 th minute and was clinical
from close range in the 43 rd. It
gave him four goals in four ap-
pearances and provided another
lift to a team that already has
gone through a coaching change,
a four-game losing streak and a
plunge into last place in the East-
ern Conference.
“Taxi is guy that brings some-
thing to the team that we’ve
missed a little bit, that final ball,”
wing back Julian Gressel said.
“Once he is in a scoring position,
he really finishes his chances.”
Midfielder Russell Canouse
said Fountas “has a killer in-

stinct.”

Gressel and Canouse, who, like

Fountas, speak German, playfully

tried to persuade him to join

them in the postgame news con-

ference.

“Taxi didn’t want to come!”

Canouse said, smiling.

United (4-5-0) won for the sec-

ond time in seven outings, with

the other victory coming against

New England three days after

Hernán Losada’s firing. In that

one, Fountas had two goals and

an assist before intermission of a

3-2 home victory.

Houston (3-4-3) didn’t show

much in its first visit to Buzzard

Point since the stadium opened in

20 18. In posting its first shutout

since the second week, United

escaped some harrowing mo-

ments a week after it conceded

three goals directly or indirectly

off set pieces in Columbus.

“We didn’t turn off like we

turned off in Columbus,” interim

coach Chad Ashton said. “We

were focused the entire time. Our

mentality was good.... Every-

body wanted to keep the zero

really bad, and that showed.”

It wasn’t all good news for

United, which lost goalkeeper Bill

Hamid to a leg injury early in the

second half. He was making his

first appearance since he hurt a

hamstring a few weeks ago. In

Hamid’s place, newly signed Ra-

fael Romo made his MLS debut.

Hamid received a cut on his

lower right leg late in the first half

and needed six or seven stitches,

according to Ashton. He s tayed in

the game and returned after half-

time, but after his first activity, h e

began limping again.

“I told him, ‘If I see anything

that looks off, we’re going to pull

you out,’ ” Ashton said. “We didn’t

want to mess with it.”

By then, United was ahead by

two goals. In the 35 th minute,

after Fountas had tested Steve

Clark from 25 yards, Gressel

served a corner kick to the top of

the penalty area. No one was

marking Fountas, who snapped a

one-timer that drifted over sev-

eral defenders and past the

screened Clark.

His second goal was the result

of perseverance and ruthlessness.

Brad Smith crossed from the left.

On the back side, Fountas didn’t

settle the ball cleanly but pulled it

from defender Adam Lundqvist

before ripping an eight-yard shot

that blazed past Clark and into

the near top corner.

Fountas’s bid for a hat trick in

the 59 th minute was thwarted by

the diving Clark. He missed wide

in the 67 th and left in the 77 th.

One-on-one with Matias Vera,

Romo made an excellent kick save

— a rare opportunity yielded by

United, which kept its shape and

composure and handed Houston

a third consecutive defeat.

“Every time we pick up three

points, it’s a confidence-booster,”

Ashton said, “but to do it the right

way is also breeding the mentality

we want to see week in, week out.”

Here’s what else to know from

United’s victory:

Revolving goalkeepers

The goalkeeping position had a

fresh look as Hamid returned

sooner than expected from a

hamstring ailment. With Romo

eligible, Jon Kempin, who had

started the previous two matches,

was not in uniform. Luis Zamu-

dio, the backup in recent weeks,

resumed full-time duty with sec-

ond-tier Loudoun United.

Djeffal makes fourth start

Aside from Hamid, the other

notable lineup change was in de-

fensive midfield, where rookie

Sofiane Djeffal replaced Chris

Durkin and made his fourth start.

Durkin, who came on for Djeffal

in the 67 th minute, had started

four consecutive matches since

he left Belgian club Sint-Tr uiden

and rejoined United.

Designated player watch

United officials remain in com-

munication with representatives

for Welsh star Gareth Bale, people

with direct knowledge of the

team’s pursuit said, but several

European clubs are in the race,

and a decision is not expected

until after Wales’s World Cup

qualifying playoff next month.

United, one person said, has

three other European-based play-

ers on its shortlist for its last

designated player contract. The

transfer window will reopen

July 7.

Open Cup up next

United will break from the

MLS schedule Tuesday to host the

New York Red Bulls in the U. S.

Open Cup’s round of 32. D.C.’s

next league match is Saturday at

Inter Miami (3-6-1).

Fountas s cores twice as United douses Houston

Venezuelan goalkeeper Rafael Romo, who recently received his

work visa, made his D.C. United debut early in the second half.

D.C. UNITED 2,

DYNAMO 0

U.S. Open Cup

Red Bulls at D.C. United

Tu esday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN Plus

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Liverpool drew with Totten-

ham, 1-1, at home and went to the

top o f the English Premier League

on Saturday but handed Man-

chester City a chance to pull three

points c lear.

The end of a 12-match league

winning run at A nfield dampened

Liverpool’s bid for four trophies.

City will host Newcastle on Sun-

day, when the defending cham-

pion — in second place on a tie-

breaker — c an r egain the l ead.

Son Heung-min’s close-range

finish put Tottenham ahead in the

56 th minute. Tottenham’s r esolute

defense repelled Liverpool’s at-

tacks until a shot from Luis Díaz

outside the penalty area deflected

off Rodrigo Bentancur and beat

goalkeeper Hugo L loris....

Romelu Lukaku scored his first

Premier League goals of 2022 be-

fore Chelsea collapsed in a 2-2

draw against Wolverhampton,

leaving the host still needing to

wrap up Champions League quali-

fication.

Lukaku netted twice in a two-

minute span early in the second

half. But goals by Francisco Tr in-

cao in the 79th minute and Conor

Coady in the seventh minute of

stoppage time left third-place

Chelsea just four points ahead of

fourth-place A rsenal, w hich meets

Leeds on S unday.

Todd Boehly was in attendance

after news broke that a consor-

tium fronted by the Los Angeles

Dodgers part-owner agreed on

terms for the $3.1 b illion p urchase

of Chelsea....

Make i t five s traight away l osses

for Manchester United in the Pre-

mier League after a 4-0 thrashing

by Brighton.

Moises Caicedo and Marc Cu-

curella scored their first goals in

English soccer before close-range

finishes by Pascal Gross and Le-

andro Tr ossard....

Watford became the second

team t o be relegated from t he Pre-

mier League a fter l osing at C rystal

Palace, 1 -0, on Wilfried Zaha’s

30 th-minute penalty kick....

Elsewhere in the Premier

League, host Burnley suffered a

3-1 loss to Aston Villa and Brent-

ford won, 3 -0, over v isiting South-

ampton.

l SPAIN: Jordi Alba scored a

last-gasp winner to snatch Barce-

lona a 2-1 win at R eal B etis, dealing

a blow to the h ost’s hopes of quali-

fying for the Champions

League....

Granada rolled past Mallorca,

6-2, with two goals from 40 -year-

old J orge Molina.

l ITALY: Fabián Ruiz scored as

Napoli won at Torino, 1-0, and

solidified its hold o n third place in

Serie A....

In other Serie A results, Lazio

earned a 2-0 win at Sampdoria

and Sassuolo drew at home with

Udinese, 1-1.

l GERMANY: Patrik Schick

scored twice to send Bayer Le-

verkusen into next s eason’s C ham-

pions League with a 4-2 win at

Hoffenheim i n the Bundesliga....

Union Berlin stunned host

Freiburg, 4 -1, to dampen its Cham-

pions League hopes....

Second-place Borussia Dort-

mund won, 3 -1, at already relegat-

ed Greuther Fürth.

l FRANCE: Nantes earned its

first trophy in 21 years when it won

the French Cup final against Nice,

1-0, in Saint-Denis.

l MLS: R onaldo C isneros had a

hat trick as Atlanta United picked

up a 4-1 win over the visiting Chi-

cago Fire.

Atlanta defender Miles Robin-

son was stretchered off the field

after collapsing with a noncontact

injury to his left leg. A serious

injury could cost the U. S. d efender

a spot at t his year’s World C up....

Jesus Ferreira and Paul Arriola

scored as FC Dallas extended its

unbeaten streak to eight games

with a 2-0 win at home over the

Seattle Sounders....

Brandon Vazquez’s stoppage-

time strike gave FC Cincinnati a

1-0 win a t Minnesota United....

In o ther MLS matches, CF Mon-

treal beat Orlando City, 4-1, at

home; Charlotte FC earned a 1-0

win over visiting Inter Miami;

host New York City FC and Sport-

ing Kansas City played to a 0-0

draw; the Columbus Crew rallied

on the r oad for a 2 -2 d raw with the

New England Revolution; and the

New York Red Bulls tied the Port-

land Timbers, 1-1, i n Harrison, N.J.

ROUNDUP

Liverpool

opens door

for City

in title race

LIVERPOOL 1,

TOTTENHAM 1