Hal Hershfelt's Late Winner Gives Washington Spirit a Club-Record Fifth Straight Win Over Seattle Reign

Hal Hershfelt had waited all season for her first NWSL goal of 2026. When it finally came, it arrived with a little help, a lot of power and perfect timing.

In the 81st minute Trinity Rodman stole the ball from a Seattle defender and fed Hershfelt centrally. Hershfelt drove at goal, unloaded a left-footed shot from outside the box, and a deflection off a Seattle Reign defender helped it into the center of the net. The Washington Spirit won 2-1 on Saturday night at Audi Field in front of 19,365 fans, a sellout according to the club, and extended their club record in the series with a fifth straight win over Seattle.

Santos Draws First Blood

The Spirit came home after a 16-day road trip, their first match at Audi Field in more than a month, and it took them 18 minutes to make the crowd loud.

Seattle actually had the first real look. Sally Menti met a Maddie Dahlien cross in the eighth minute, but Sandy MacIver was well placed to save in the center of the goal. Then Holly Ward was booked in the 17th minute for a foul on Rodman just outside the box, and Leicy Santos made Seattle pay for it immediately. Her right-footed free kick curled toward the far side, nobody touched it, and it settled in the bottom right corner. Free kicks like that should come with a highlight package already attached.

Washington kept coming. Rodman's shot from the left side of the box was blocked by a recovering Phoebe McClernon in the 23rd minute, and Rodman dragged another effort wide five minutes later. MacIver had to stop Ainsley McCammon from the center of the box in the 35th, and at the other end Sofia Cantore slid a Rosemonde Kouassi pass just wide of the post in the same minute. Santos then fired wide from distance in the 38th.

A Gift Before the Break

Seattle had spent most of the half absorbing pressure, but one moment of disruption changed the scoreline. In the 44th minute Maddie Mercado led a hard press that forced Washington to play back toward its own goal, and Lucia Di Guglielmo's touch got away from her and past MacIver. Own goal. 1-1 at halftime, and Seattle had an equalizer it had earned with effort more than chances.

Reign head coach Laura Harvey made two changes at the break, sending on Sam Meza and Nérilia Mondésir for McCammon and Ward. Meza was excellent. The Reign said she won every tackle she attempted and tied for the team lead in tackles, and Seattle had its best spell of the night in the early part of the second half. Mercado had a shot blocked in the 50th minute, and the Reign said Menti went down in the box in the 58th appealing for a penalty that never came.

The Turning Point: Hershfelt Finds the Range

Washington responded with set pieces and substitutions. Santos whipped in corners that Élisabeth Tsé and Andi Sullivan headed wide in the 62nd and 75th minutes, and reinforcements arrived in the 66th when Claudia Martínez, Sullivan and Esme Morgan all came on at once.

Hershfelt had warned Seattle in the 73rd minute. According to the Spirit, she jumped on a misplaced pass from Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey and fired just over the crossbar. Eight minutes later she got another chance and did not miss. Rodman made the steal, Hershfelt made the run, and the deflection did the rest.

Seattle had little left. Dickey kept her side in it with a sharp save on a Kouassi shot from the center of the box in the 86th minute, but the Reign's only attempt after the goal was an Emeri Adames shot from outside the box that drifted wide in the 90th.

Star Turns

Hal Hershfelt took two shots, put one on target and scored the winner. The club noted it was her first goal of the NWSL season, and it came at the moment the game was tilting back toward Seattle.

Trinity Rodman won the free kick for the opener, according to the Spirit, and then manufactured the winner with a steal and a pass. The assist was her fourth of the season, which the club said tied her for the most in the league.

Leicy Santos scored from a dead ball and created two more good headed looks from corners before coming off in the 82nd minute.

Maddie Mercado was Seattle's best attacker, and the Reign credited her 87 minutes of pressure with forcing the own goal.

Sandy MacIver made two saves and was quietly solid, particularly on the McCammon chance that could have tied it before the own goal ever happened.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Washington led 12 to 5. Seattle's two on-target attempts both came in the first half.
• Possession: Dead even, 50.3 percent for Seattle and 49.7 for Washington.
• Clearances: Washington made 35 to Seattle's 24, while the Reign sent in 17 crosses.
• Corners: five apiece.
• Discipline: Seattle picked up three yellow cards, Washington two.

What It Means

Washington moved to 6-3-2 with 21 points and bounced back from a 2-1 loss at San Diego Wave FC in its previous match. It was the Spirit's third straight home win, per the club, and their second win over Seattle this season after a 1-0 victory in Seattle on May 10. Washington is now unbeaten in four home matches since a season-opening loss to the Portland Thorns. The Spirit return on July 3 against the Houston Dash at Audi Field.

Seattle dropped to 4-2-5 with 14 points and has lost three of its last four, with a 2-1 win at Boston Legacy FC the only bright spot in that run. The Reign's next league match is July 4 at the North Carolina Courage. The club noted that a long list of its players will spend the break with their national teams.

The Closing Take

Good teams find a way on nights when the shots are not dropping, and this Spirit side keeps finding one. Seattle did everything it needed to get back into it and then watched Rodman and Hershfelt turn one loose touch into three points. Five straight wins over the Reign. At this point, this matchup is less a rivalry than a recurring episode with the same ending.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Match details and notes as reported by the Washington Spirit and Seattle Reign FC.