The Washington Spirit got five goals from five different players on Saturday night to beat the University of North Carolina 5-0. Despite a slow start, the Spirit’s attack strengthened throughout the night. None of the five goals were particularly traditional: a 45-yard rocket, an own goal, a long, unassisted run, a free kick from 20 yards out, and a goal on an empty net. While the Spirit couldn’t create much centrally, they found various ways to get around that.
The Spirit maintained the 3-5-2 formation the team used last week, though Spirit head coach Jim Gabarra indicated after the game that the 3-5-2 isn’t necessarily going to be the club’s primary system this season.