In its first match since winning its first trophy, the Washington Spirit on Saturday opened the National Women’s Soccer League’s preseason tournament with a 0-0 away draw against the Orlando Pride.
Returning almost everyone from the squad that won the championship in November, the Spirit was dominant but inefficient in the first half and endured anxious late moments on the first weekend of the Challenge Cup.
“The Challenge Cup will hopefully give us that time to fine-tune some things, so when we get to [the] season, we’re in high gear,” defender Kelley O’Hara said. “This team has an extremely high ceiling and I’m excited to see what we can do.