Spirit Kicks off Concacaf W Champions Cup Group Play with Impressive 7-0 Win on the Road
NWSL Washington Spirit

Spirit Kicks off Concacaf W Champions Cup Group Play with Impressive 7-0 Win on the Road

Published on August 20, 2025 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Washington Spirit News Release


Santa Tecla, El Salvador - The Spirit won its first-ever match on international soil Tuesday night in convincing fashion as the side beat Alianza Women FC 7-0 on the road. Washington takes the top spot in its group to kick off the 2025-26 Concacaf W Champions Cup.

Washington controlled much of possession early with the majority of play occurring on Alianza's side of the pitch. In the seventh minute of the match, Brittany Ratcliffe made a run toward the end line and sent a cross on the ground through the box to Makenna Morris who took a shot but was saved.

In the 16th minute, Alianza finally had an attacking opportunity when Tatiana Hawkins chased down a loose ball on the Spirit side of the field and fired a cross into the center of the box. The home side was able to put a leaping header on frame but Spirit keeper Sandy MacIver made the save.

Five minutes later, Chloe Ricketts made a run into the Alianza box with the ball and was taken to the ground, drawing a penalty kick. Rosemonde Kouassi, who saved a point for the Spirit last Friday night, stepped up to the spot and buried her shot in the left side of the goal to give Washington the 1-0 lead.

Just three minutes later, Ricketts doubled the Spirit's lead in the 24th minute. She received a ball in the box and had two close-range shots blocked before connecting on her third shot. The goal was Ricketts' first since her rookie season in 2023.

The Spirit had two more close chances late in the first half before heading into the locker room up 2-0. In the 37th minute, Morris delivered a corner kick into the far side of the box to Kouassi but the Ivorian's ensuring shot went high over the bar. In the 43rd minute, Kouassi made a run into the box but was stopped when Alianza keeper Samantha Valadez jumped on the ball.

Coming out of halftime, Washington kept its foot on the gas and scored four more goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half. In the 49th minute, Kouassi fired a shot on target that was saved by the Alianza keeper but Ratcliffe chased down the rebound and put it into the net for the 3-0 lead. Three minutes later, Kouassi tallied her second goal of the match when she buried a rebound in the box off a shot from Morris.

Another four minutes later in the 56th minute, substitute Trinity Rodman got on the scoreboard when she buried an open shot in the box off an assist by Ratcliffe. The Spirit attack pushed its lead to 6-0 in the 59th minute when Kouassi completed the hat trick with Ratcliffe providing her second assist of the night. The hat trick is Kouassi's first since joining the Spirit and made it four goals in four days for the forward.

Sofia Cantore and Leicy Santos entered the match for the Spirit later in the second half to close things out. Cantore tallied her second goal in as many matches in the 89th minute to make the final scoreline 7-0 and propel the Spirit to the top of the Group B table. Ratcliffe also assisted this goal, giving her a goal and three assists on the night.

The Spirit will next head directly to San Francisco for the side's NWSL regular season matchup with Bay FC on Saturday, August 23. Kicking off at 4 p.m. EDT, the match will take place at Oracle Park, the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, and could set a new league record for single match attendance.

-Concacaf W Champions Cup Match Report-

Match: Alianza Women FC vs. Washington Spirit

Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Venue: Estadio Las Delicias (Santa Tecla, El Salvador)

Kickoff: 8 p.m. EDT

Weather: Cloudy, mid-70s

Scoring Summary:

Goals 1 2 F

Alianza 0 0 0

Washington 2 5 7

WAS - Rosemonde Kouassi - 21 ‚¬Â² (PK)

WAS - Chloe Ricketts - 24 ‚¬Â²

WAS - Brittany Ratcliffe - 49 ‚¬Â²

WAS - Rosemonde Kouassi - 52 ‚¬Â²

WAS - Trinity Rodman - 56 ‚¬Â² (assisted by Brittany Ratcliffe)

WAS - Rosemonde Kouassi - 59 ‚¬Â² (assisted by Brittany Ratcliffe)

WAS - Sofia Cantore - 89 ‚¬Â² (assisted by Brittany Ratcliffe)

Lineups:

ALI: 25 - Samantha Valadez; 3 - Marilyn Cabrera (14 - Paola Cerén, 54'); 5 - Santana Pressley; 4 - Linda Guillén; 23 - Irma Hernández; 7 - Tatiana Hawkins (30 - Gladis Ulloa, 74'); 19 - Raquel Ramírez (12 - Genesis Carpio, 46'); 29 - Neyda Martinez (17 - Priscila Ortíz, 58'); 27 - Alejandra Agundez; 22 - Monica Rodriguez (8 - Joseline Rivas, 46'); 9 - Lesly Calderón

Unused Substitutes: 1 - Roxana Vega; 24 - Jessica Silva; 6 - Rosmery Mendoza; 16 - Iliana Molina; 20 - Keyri Garcia; 26 - Yaneth Sotelo

WAS: 28 - Sandy MacIver; 16 - Courtney Brown; 38 - Lauren Gogal; 25 - Kysha Sylla; 26 - Paige Metayer (2 - Trinity Rodman, 46' (7 - Croix Bethune, 73')); 22 - Heather Stainbrook; 39 - Chloe Ricketts (10 - Leicy Santos, 73'); 5 - Narumi Miura (4 - Rebeca Bernal, 46'); 8 - Makenna Morris; 19 - Rosemonde Kouassi (27 - Sofia Cantore, 62'); 13 - Brittany Ratcliffe

Unused Substitutes: 1 - Aubrey Kingsbury; 6 - Kate Wiesner; 9 - Tara McKeown; 14 - Gabby Carle; 17 - Hal Hershfelt; 21 - Gift Monday; 24 - Esme Morgan

Stats Summary: ALI / WAS

Shots: 1 / 27

Shots On Goal: 1 / 17

Saves: 10 / 1

Fouls: 15 / 10

Offsides: 0 / 2

Misconduct Summary:

None

Check out the Washington Spirit Statistics

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