Ashley Hatch’s extra-time goal lifts Spirit to dramatic NWSL playoff win

By Eduardo Razo
November 7, 2021 | 10:09 PM

Hatch's extra-time goal sends Spirit to NWSL semifinals originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

The Washington Spirit have endured an adversity-filled season that included the dismissal of their head coach following a National Women’s Soccer League investigation for verbal and emotional abuse, a coronavirus outbreak and a bitter ownership dispute.

The drama long ago could have derailed Washington’s season. But the Spirit players banded together to go unbeaten in their final six games to qualify for the NWSL playoffs. On Sunday at Audi Field, they kept their season going with a dramatic extra-time win against the North Carolina Courage.

It took 90 scoreless minutes and then 30 minutes of extra time, but Ashley Hatch — the NWSL’s top goal scorer — slammed home a rebound in the 113th minute to lift the Spirit to an eventual 1-0 victory before an estimated 5,400 fans.

North Carolina came to Audi Field as the last team to get into the playoffs as the No. 6 seed. The Spirit were the No. 3 seed in the tournament and a mild favorite, especially after a 2-1 win over the Courage on the road Oct. 13. But it wasn’t easy.

Hatch jumped on a second chance opportunity off a shot by teammate Trinity Rodman and buried the chance to score the lone goal in the match. The Spirit held on for the final seven-plus minutes and avoided penalties.

Washington is 6-0-1 since it had to forfeit a pair of games thanks to a coronavirus outbreak – one in Portland against the top-seeded Thorns on Sept. 4 and the other a home match scheduled for Sept. 12 against OL Reign. Both games went down as 3-0 forfeits.

The Spirit will play in the NWSL semifinals on Nov. 14 at 3 p.m. when they travel to Tacoma, Wash. to face Team USA star Megan Rapinoe and the No. 2-seeded Reign with a spot in the championship game on the line. The final will be played on Nov. 20 in Louisville.

Watch the Washington Capitals on NBC Sports Washington

By NBC Sports Washington Staff
April 13, 2023 | 10:00 PM

Watch Capitals' season finale vs. Devils on NBCSW originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonThe Washington Capitals are back on NBC Sports Washington for the 2022-23 season.Don't miss the Caps' quest for a second Stanley Cup championship and Alex Ovechkin's historic chase of Wayne Gretzky. Head coach Peter Laviolette is in his third season at the helm with high expectations where he finally has a bonafide No. 1 goalie in reigning Stanley Cup champion Darcy Kuemper. Can Washington get over the hump for a second time?All season long you can catch games, pregame and postgame coverage with the top insight from those who know the team best. Play-by-play Joe Beninati and color commentator Craig Laughlin are in the booth for their 26th year together of calling Capitals hockey.NBC Sports Washington will also surround all games with live gameday programs Capitals Pregame Live and Capitals Postgame Live. Capitals Pregame Live will be broadcast 30 minutes prior to the scheduled game start. Alexa Landestoy will host a talented and accomplished crew of analysts and insiders, including Alan May, Al Koken and Brent Johnson.NEXT CAPITALS GAME ON NBCSWWhat: Washington Capitals vs. New Jersey DevilsWhere: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.When: Thursday, April 13, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. ETTV Channel: Capitals vs. Devils will be broadcast on NBC Sports Washington. Find your channel here.Live Stream: You can live stream Capitals vs. Devils on NBC Sports Washington's live stream page and on the NBC Sports App.LATEST CAPITALS HEADLINESCapitals' season ends with overtime loss to DevilsWhen is the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs?Lindgren exits with injury as Capitals fall to BruinsCapitals play spoiler, sprint past Islanders to snap skidCaps’ Carlson nominated for Bill Masterton Memorial TrophyCAPITALS GAMEDAY COVERAGE SCHEDULECapitals Pregame Live: 30 minutes prior to the scheduled startCapitals GameCapitals Postgame Live: 30 minutes to an hour following the final hornFULL CAPITALS SCHEDULE:PreseasonSun. Sept 25: Sabres 4, Capitals 3 (OT)Wed. Sept 28: Capitals 3, Flyers 1Fri. Sept 30: Capitals 2, Red Wings 0Sat. Oct 1: Blue Jackets 2, Capitals 1Wed. Oct 5: Capitals 4, Red Wings 2Sat. Oct 8: Capitals 4, Blue Jackets 3Regular SeasonWed. Oct 12: Bruins 5, Capitals 2 (0-1-0)Thu. Oct 13: Maple Leafs 3, Capitals 2 (0-2-0)Sat. Oct 15: Capitals 3, Canadiens 1 (1-2-0)Mon. Oct 17: Capitals 6, Canucks 4 (2-2-0)Thu. Oct 20: Senators 5, Capitals 2 (2-3-0)Sat. Oct 22: Capitals 4, Kings 3 (3-3-0)Mon. Oct 24: Capitals 6, Devils 3 (4-3-0)Thu. Oct 27: Stars 2, Capitals 0 (4-4-0)Sat. Oct 29: Capitals 3, Predators 0 (5-4-0)Mon. Oct 31: Hurricanes 3, Capitals 2 (SO) (5-4-1)Tue. Nov 1: Golden Knights 3, Capitals 2 (OT) (5-4-2)Thu. Nov 3: Red Wings 3, Capitals 1 (5-5-2)Sat. Nov 5: Coyotes 3, Capitals 2 (5-6-2)Mon. Nov 7: Capitals 5, Oilers 4 (6-6-2)Wed. Nov 9: Penguins 4, Capitals 1 (6-7-2)Fri. Nov 11: Capitals 5, Lightning 1 (7-7-2)Sun. Nov 13: Lighting 6, Capitals 3 (7-8-2)Tue. Nov 15: Panthers 5, Capitals 2 (7-9-2)Thu. Nov 17: Blues 5, Capitals 4 (SO) (7-9-3)Sat. Nov 19: Avalanche 4, Capitals 0 (7-10-3)Wed. Nov 23: Capitals 3, Flyers 2 (OT) (8-10-3)Fri. Nov 25: Capitals 3, Flames 0 (9-10-3)Sat. Nov 26: Devils 5, Capitals 1 (9-11-3)Tue. Nov 29: Capitals 5, Canucks 1 (10-11-3)Thu. Dec 1: Kraken 3, Capitals 2 (OT) (10-11-4)Sat. Dec 3: Flames 5, Capitals 2 (10-12-4)Mon. Dec 5: Capitals 3, Oilers 2 (11-12-4)Wed. Dec 7: Capitals 4, Flyers 1 (12-12-4)Fri. Dec 9: Capitals 4, Kraken 1 (13-12-4)Sun. Dec 11: Capitals 5, Jets 2 (14-12-4)Tue. Dec 13: Capitals 7, Blackhawks 3 (15-12-4)Thu. Dec 15: Stars 2, Capitals 1 (15-13-4)Sat. Dec 17: Capitals 5, Maple Leafs 2 (16-13-4)Mon. Dec 19: Capitals 4, Red Wings 3 (OT) (17-13-4)Thu. Dec 22: Capitals 3, Senators 2 (OT) (18-13-4)Fri. Dec 23: Capitals 4, Winnipeg Jets 1 (19-13-4)Tue. Dec 27: Capitals 4, Rangers 0 (20-13-4)Thu. Dec 29: Senators 4, Capitals 3 (OT) (20-13-5)Sat. Dec 31: Capitals 9, Canadiens 2 (21-13-5)Tue. Jan 3: Sabres 5, Capitals 4 (OT) (21-13-6)Thu. Jan 5: Capitals 6, Blue Jackets (22-13-6)Fri. Jan 6: Predators 3, Capitals 2 (22-14-6)Sun. Jan 8: Capitals 1, Blue Jackets 0 (23-14-6)Wed. Jan 11: Flyers 5, Capitals 3 (23-15-6)Sat. Jan 14: Flyers 3, Capitals 1 (23-16-6)Mon. Jan 16: Capitals 4, Islanders 3 (OT) (24-16-6)Tue. Jan 17: Wild 4, Capitals 2 (24-17-6)Thu. Jan 19: Capitals 4, Coyotes 0 (25-17-6)Sat. Jan 21: Golden Knights 6, Capitals 2 (25-18-6)Tue. Jan 24: Avalanche 3, Capitals 2 (25-19-6)Thu. Jan 26: Capitals 3, Penguins 2 (S/O) (26-19-6)Sun. Jan 29: Maple Leafs 5, Capitals 1 (26-20-6)Tue. Jan 31: Capitals 4, Blue Jackets 3 (OT) (27-20-6)Sat. Feb 11: Capitals 2, Bruins 1 (28-20-6)Sun. Feb 12: Sharks 4, Capitals 1 (28-21-6)Tue. Feb 14: Hurricanes 3, Capitals 2 (28-22-6)Thu. Feb 16: Panthers 6, Capitals 3 (28-23-6)Sat. Feb 18: Hurricanes 4, Capitals 1 (28-24-6)Tue. Feb 21: Red Wings 3, Capitals 1 (28-25-6)Thu. Feb 23: Ducks 4, Capitals 2 (28-26-6)Sat. Feb 25: Capitals 6, Rangers 3 (29-26-6)Sun. Feb 26: Sabres 7, Capitals 4 (29-27-6)Wed. Mar 1: Capitals 3, Ducks 2 (OT) (30-27-6)Sat. Mar 4: Capitals 8, Sharks 3 (31-27-6)Mon. Mar 6: Kings 4, Capitals 2 (31-28-6)Thu. Mar 9: Devils 3, Capitals 2 (SO) (31-28-7)Sat. Mar 11: Capitals 5, Islanders 1 (32-28-7)Tue. Mar 14: Rangers 5, Capitals 3 (32-29-7)Wed. Mar 15: Capitals 5, Sabres 4 (SO) (33-29-7)Fri. Mar 17: Blues 5, Capitals 2 (33-30-7)Sun. Mar 19: Wild 5, Capitals 3 (33-31-7)Tue. Mar 21: Blue Jackets 7, Capitals 6 (OT) (33-31-8)Thu. Mar 23: Capitals 6, Blackhawks 1 (34-31-8)Sat. Mar 25: Penguins 4, Capitals 3 (34-32-8)Wed. Mar 29: Islanders 2, Capitals 1 (SO) (34-32-9)Thu. Mar 30: Lightning 5, Capitals 1 (34-33-9)Sun. Apr 2: Rangers 5, Capitals 2 (34-34-9)Thu. Apr 6: Canadiens 6, Capitals 2 (34-35-9)Sat. Apr 8: Panthers 4, Capitals 2 (34-36-9)Mon. Apr 10: Capitals 5, Islanders 2 (35-36-9)Tue. Apr 11: Bruins 5, Capitals 2 (35-37-9)Thu. Apr 13: Devils 5, Capitals 4 (35-38-10)

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