Keeper of the Spirit of Washington Aubrey Kingsbury saved all three penalties she faced as the Spirit beat defending champion NJ/NY Gotham FC in a penalty shootout 3-0 Saturday at Audi Field to advance to this week’s NWSL Championship next.

The two teams drew 1-1 after 120 minutes after the Spirit forced extra time in the final moments of regulation.

Spiritual midfielder Hal Hershfelt scored the equalizer for Washington in second-half stoppage time to make up for it Esther GonzalezGotham’s goal earlier in the period, which played the final 19 minutes of overtime with one player. Kingsbury followed with his heroics in the shootout that sent a sold-out crowd of more than 19,000 fans into a frenzy in the U.S. capital.

“(I) just got a good read,” Kingsbury said after the game. “And I think it’s more just the confidence and having the fans behind me. I was really trying to get them involved because I knew it would give us a big advantage for their penalty takers who would come and would try to score one in front of that. wall of fans like, I’d be scared.

Washington will face the winner of Sunday’s semifinal, between No. 1 seed Orlando Pride and No. 4 seed Kansas City Current, in the NWSL Championship on Nov. 23 at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

“I think we are here because we deserve it,” said Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez. “Nobody gave us anything. We deserved to win last week. We deserved it today because we created more chances than Gotham. But I don’t want to stay here. I want to keep moving forward.”

No. 2 seed Spirit withstood early pressure from No. 3 seed Gotham, including González’s shot off the crossbar in the first minute, before increasing the pressure on the visitors.

But Gotham got on the board first thanks to González, whose 56th-minute goal was Gotham’s first shot in 47 minutes.

Gotham Midfielder Yazmine Ryan collected the ball on the right flank and made a pass inside midfield Rose Lavellewho dribbled briefly before throwing a no-look pass behind the Spirit defense and into the path of Ryan, who had continued his run. Ryan collected the ball on the baseline and delivered a cross to the penalty spot, where the unmarked González adjusted her body to send the ball back towards the near post.

Lavelle nearly doubled the lead 13 minutes later when she blocked a slow clearance attempt by Spirit goalkeeper Kingsbury in the Washington penalty area, but the ball deflected just wide of the goal.

Washington, led by the American star and MVP finalist Trinity Rodmancontinued their onslaught of pressure throughout the second half and eventually found the equalizer in stoppage time.

Gotham backup guard Jenna Nighswonger Fault from the Washington defender Tara McKeown just outside the box to concede a free kick in a dangerous position. Spirit Substitute Makenna Morris delivered a free kick straight to the head of fellow rookie Hershfelt for the equalizer in the third minute of second-half injury time.

Three minutes later, Morris stepped up and hit a deep corner – a struggling area throughout the day for the Spirit – at Hershfelt’s head, but his header went just over the bar.

Gotham played most of the overtime against a player after a defender Bruninhacame on in the 65th minute, received a second yellow card and was sent off for a professional foul on Rodman right in front of the Spirit bench. Rodman looked at Bruninha and raised his hand to imitate a card shown before Rodman exchanged words with the Gotham defender and his USWNT teammate. Emily Sonnet. Rodman also received a yellow card.

Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said he did not want to speak negatively about the referees, but pointed out that Bruninha received two yellow cards for two fouls. Gotham had already used every substitution available by the time Bruninha was ejected.

“We had a specific plan,” Amorós said of how the team adapted. “I think it worked really well, the way we wanted to attack, the way we wanted to defend. We limited their chances, so maybe they put us under pressure, but we limited the chances. And in the end, we really had two really good chances to win it.”

Each team had a clear opportunity to win the game following Gotham’s reduction to 10 players.

Gotham FC Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger launched a Spirit shot forward Ashley Hatch over the bar just before the extra-time break, and Esther almost headed in a second goal in the 115th minute when she connected on a corner delivered by Nighswonger. Kingsbury dove to his right to push the shot wide.

Kingsbury then stepped in and saved all three of Gotham’s attempts in the shootout, first from González, followed by shots from the midfielder. McCall Zerboni then Nighswonger. Hatch, Lena Silano and McKeown converted penalties for the Spirit.

“She’s brilliant,” Giráldez said of Kingsbury. “Not because of the penalties, because she is a professional in that she faces training every day. It’s crazy. I’ve never seen that before.”

The penalty shootout was only the second in NWSL playoff history. Washington lost the previous opportunity against the Western New York Flash (now the North Carolina Courage after the move) in the 2016 NWSL Championship.

The Spirit are seeking their second NWSL championship after winning the title in 2021, when then-rookie Rodman delivered an assist to Kelley O’Hara for the trophy-winning goal.

Washington won this trophy while players publicly protested their former owner, Steve Baldwin, for allegedly fostering a toxic culture within the club.

“Honestly, I have the same feelings as 2021, it was kind of like it was destiny,” Kingsbury said. “And I would say the same thing. Obviously we don’t have the media circus and all the chaotic energy around us like we did in 2021, but on the other hand, those are all positive things. “