Washington Spirit advance over Racing Louisville in NWSL playoffs after dramatic penalty shootout

In a quarterfinal being billed as an upset watch, the second seeded Washington Spirit flipped the script advancing to the semifinals after penalty kicks. Against the backdrop of a raucous hometown crowd at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., the Spirit managed to take control of the match early. In the first half of regulation, Louisville had no real answers to the Spirit's ball progression and often had none against their territorial counterpress.

Racing spent the majority of the game pinned in their own half, and almost faced an early deficit, but a nifty set-piece goal by the Spirit was ruled offside, and an injury substitution to Spirit defender Gabby Carle almost reset the tempo, but not nearly enough. Still, Washington was dominant in almost every offensive and attacking stat by halftime, including possession, 73% to Louisville's minimal 27%, and practically double the pass attempts (302 to 109) and total touches (405 to 202).

The shot selection for both sides was questionable though, and it took them a long time to find a goal in regulation with the Spirit's Gift Monday finally breaking the deadlock on a header.

It looked like that was going to be all that the Spirit needed, as they nursed their lead into stoppage time. But the drama was only getting started. Racing substitute Kayla Fischer provided a huge lift for Louisville, scoring the equalizer in stoppage time of regulation.

Extra time offered plenty of high drama as the Spirit's injury list grew deeper into the game. Washington defender and U.S. women's national team player Tara McKeown was subbed out after making what may have been a game-saving tackle on Racing star striker Emma Sears. Eventually, the tired legs and fatigue led the way for penalty heroics.

Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury emerged as the game-changer, stopping three consecutive penalty attempts by Racing Louisville players. It was almost how Washington drew up from last season. The group faced a testy No. 7 seed last year in Bay FC, came out victorious, and rode the momentum through to the final.

"Honestly, we've worked on this. We're prepared. Our kickers all executed. I did my job, and we're through in another round," Kingsbury told the broadcast after the game.

"You know, we'd love to get out of there at the end of regulation, but we came back from early injury to Gabby [Carle], late injury to Tara [McKeown]. A lot of adversity today, but really proud of the way that we stuck through it and came out with a victory.

"You could definitely tell we were tired. They were also really tired. They defended very well, honestly, the whole game, and we really executed perfectly up until about that 93rd minute. So, it's like, 'Hey, we're doing well, just keep fighting. Dig deep.' Credit to our subs off the bench, everyone really put in the shift today."

Washington Spirit will face the winner of Portland Thorns FC and San Diego Wave FC. The two sides will play on Sunday. The winner will travel to Audi Field for the semifinal, where the stadium has become a fortress-like atmosphere.

"Oh yeah, it's great. We love our fans. It's electric in here. I honestly feel invincible, especially getting to take those penalties in front of our supporters section," Kingsbury said.

"I knew we were going to win just because we had them, and just giving us confidence. And it's a tough place to play for the opponents. So yeah, I wouldn't want to be the goalkeeper in front of that."

CBS is the home of the NWSL Championship. The last two teams remaining from the NWSL playoffs will compete for the title on Saturday, Nov. 22, at PayPal Park in San Jose, California. Orlando Pride are recent semifinalists after defeating Seattle Reign on Friday; they await the winner of Kansas City Current vs. Gotham FC. You can watch the final live on Paramount+.