Heraldo de Madrid - Clare Luvanga Leads Washington Spirit to Third Straight NWSL Championship with 2-1 Win

Clare Luvanga scored her second goal of the postseason in the 57th minute, capitalizing on an errant pass, to lead the Washington Spirit to a 2-1 semifinal victory over the Utah Royals on Saturday. The win secured the Spirit's fifth NWSL Championship and their third consecutive title.

Luvanga raced onto Nuria Rábano’s ill-advised ball after it rolled past Utah center back Tatumn Milazzo, then chipped it softly over charging goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn for the winning score.

Luvanga also played a crucial pass to create Sofia Cantore’s eighth-minute leveler for the No. 3-seeded Spirit, who will seek their second title at home after receiving hosting rights in June. Washington will face either No. 1-seeded Gotham FC or the fourth-seeded KC Current, who meet in the semifinals on Sunday.

Luvanga’s contributions made up for her hesitation on Cloé Lacasse’s second-minute opener from a corner kick for Utah. Luvanga and goalkeeper Sandy McIver both failed to react as Lacasse’s in-swinging service sneaked in at the near post.

It was the fastest goal in NWSL playoff history and the second of Utah’s first-ever postseason.

Luvanga made amends six minutes later, playing a diagonal ball to free Trinity Rodman down the left. Rodman drove in a low cross toward the near corner of the 6-yard box, and Cantore arrived ahead of her defender for a first-time finish.

If the Spirit face Gotham FC, it would be a rematch of Gotham’s 1-0 2025 NWSL Championship win in San Jose, Calif.

D.Prieto--HdM