The Washington Spirit got the 2019 season started with a solid home win, but the job is a lot tougher this week. Utah Royals FC are the opponent, and Laura Harvey’s club should be a far sterner test than Sky Blue FC was. Putting aside the obvious difficulty of going on the road for the first time, and of dealing with a higher elevation, there’s also the fact that Utah has some top-notch players, and finished their debut season with real momentum.
Getting a home win was a positive step last week, but if the Spirit can go to the Wasatch Front and come back with 3 points (especially in front of a crowd rumored to be in the 17,000-18,000 range), the rest of the NWSL will have to take notice.