Leicy Santos Scores Twice as Washington Spirit Rout Kansas City Current 4-0

Leicy Santos needed one touch to open the scoring on Friday night, and by the end of it the Washington Spirit had turned a heavyweight matchup into a statement.

Santos scored twice, Trinity Rodman had a goal and an assist, and substitute Claudia Martínez scored her first NWSL goal as the Spirit beat the Kansas City Current 4-0 in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,215 at Audi Field. It was Washington's first home win of the season, its third straight clean sheet and, for a Kansas City side that came in with real expectations, a deeply uncomfortable night in D.C.

MacIver Holds, Santos Strikes

Kansas City actually had the first big look. In the 14th minute, Croix Bethune got in alone after a turnover, and Sandy MacIver made a sliding save to deny her. That stop mattered more than the scoreline will ever show.

Washington started to tilt the field after that. Rosemonde Kouassi sent a shot just past the right post in the 20th minute, and Santos missed from outside the box two minutes later. In the 25th minute, Rodman finally found the opening, swinging in a cross that Santos met first time from the center of the box and steered into the bottom left corner. 1-0.

The Current had their chance to answer before halftime. In the 41st minute, Debinha sprung Temwa Chawinga, who weaved through the Spirit defense before the ball ended up back at Debinha's feet in the middle of the box, according to Kansas City's report. MacIver got down to make the save. Moments earlier, Lorena had denied Sofia Cantore at the other end, and Ellie Bravo-Young had headed just wide off a set piece.

Then came the moment that broke Kansas City's first half. In the third minute of stoppage time, Washington won a corner, and per the Spirit, Lorena could not hold it. The ball dropped to Rodman on the left side of the six-yard box, and she finished with her right foot. 2-0 at the break.

The Second Half Got Away From Kansas City

Kansas City sent on Rocky Rodríguez for Debinha at halftime, but the change did not slow Washington down. Cantore went close in the 48th minute, and eight minutes later Santos struck again, finishing from the center of the box into the same bottom left corner. 3-0, and the Audi Field crowd was in full party mode.

The Current tried to find a way back into it. Izzy Rodriguez and Ally Sentnor both missed in the next 10 minutes, and Haley Hopkins replaced Chawinga in the 65th minute. Washington answered with its own change at the same moment, sending on Martínez for Cantore.

It took Martínez 10 minutes to make the change look brilliant. Kouassi broke from midfield and fed Martínez, whose first effort was blocked. She stayed with the rebound and slotted a left-footed finish into the bottom right corner in the 75th minute. The Spirit say it was the first goal of her NWSL career.

Martínez nearly added a second, but Lorena saved her twice in the 85th and 86th minutes. Kyra Carusa forced MacIver into one more stop in the 87th, and Sentnor rattled the crossbar with a free kick in stoppage time. The clean sheet survived.

The Stars

Santos was the headliner: four shots, two on target, two goals. Per the Spirit, they were her second and third goals of the season. She did not need much of the ball inside the box to make it count.

Rodman's night was just as important. She delivered the cross for the opener and scored the second, and the club says those were her first assist and first goal of the season. She came off in the 78th minute for Gift Monday.

Martínez made the most of her 25 minutes or so, putting three of her five shots on target. And MacIver deserves real credit for the two sliding saves in the first half, which kept Washington in control before the goals started flowing. In front of her, Tara Rudd, Esme Morgan, Kate Wiesner and Lucia Di Guglielmo held Kansas City to three shots on target, and the Spirit credited a sliding tackle from Rudd in the final minute with protecting the shutout.

For Kansas City, there were milestones on a rough night. Chawinga made her 50th NWSL regular-season appearance for the Current, and Rodriguez made her 58th career regular-season start, fourth-most in club history, according to the club. Rodriguez also extended her run to 32 consecutive appearances, the third-longest streak in franchise history.

The Turning Point

Rodman's goal in first-half stoppage time. At 1-0, Kansas City had shown enough through Bethune and Debinha to believe it could get back into the match. Conceding off a corner the goalkeeper could not hold, deep in stoppage time, turned a manageable halftime talk into a rescue mission. Santos' second goal 11 minutes into the second half ended that mission.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Washington 17, Kansas City 8.
• Shots on target: Washington 7, Kansas City 3.
• Possession: Washington 56.9 percent, Kansas City 43.1.
• Saves: MacIver 3, Lorena 3.
• Cards: Kansas City picked up two yellows, both in the first half; Washington had none.

What It Means

Washington moves to 2-3-1 with nine points and is now unbeaten in five since an opening-night loss to Portland, with three draws followed by back-to-back wins and clean sheets at Bay FC and now at home. The Spirit continue their homestand against Racing Louisville FC on Wednesday, April 29.

Kansas City falls to 2-0-4 with six points. The Current say the loss also ended their three-match unbeaten streak against the Spirit. Next up is a trip to the North Carolina Courage on Saturday, May 2.

Closing Take

This was billed as a heavyweight bout, and only one side showed up with its gloves laced. Santos and Rodman ran the show, Martínez stole a scene off the bench, and MacIver made sure Kansas City never got a word in. If Washington's slow start to the season was the trailer, this was the movie.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional match details from WashingtonSpirit.com and KansasCityCurrent.com.