The Washington Spirit became the NWSL’s first team to reach five championship games (without relocation involved) Saturday after a 2-1 win over the seventh-seed Utah Royals, who braved a thunderous Audi Field in their first-ever playoff semifinal.

After the Royals took an early lead in the second minute on an Olimpico (a goal scored directly off a corner kick) from Cloé Lacasse that shocked the crowd, Washington responded with an equalizer — a tap-in from Sofia Cantore in the eighth minute — that showcased the squad’s depth. Spirit striker Clara Luvanga pounced on the Royals’ defensive mistake and scored the game-winner in the 56th minute.

The Spirit have reached the last two NWSL championships and lost both. On Saturday afternoon, they overcame a near scheduling snafu, football lines on the field and a far sterner defensive test than their quarterfinal against the Portland Thorns last week to return to the final — one they will host at Audi Field next weekend.

From the star of the semifinal to Utah’s run coming to a close, the first semifinal of the weekend offered plenty of entertainment in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,365 — a sixth consecutive postseason sellout for the Spirit. The Athletic breaks down how it happened.

Luvanga’s invaluable (and multifaceted) impact

Luvanga’s winning goal for the Spirit marked the second consecutive time she’s pounced on a defensive error and punished her opponents. Last week, the Tanzanian international picked the ball from Thorns goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold. On Saturday, she did it to Royals fullback Nuria Rábano, who under-hit a pass back to goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn. Luvanga happily intercepted it in the 56th minute to give the Spirit their first lead.

The sequence illustrated how tight the margins were in this semifinal and how little they can be for Luvanga to make a difference. The 21-year-old has now had four goals and three assists since her first appearance for the Spirit on Sept. 26, and there is still a strong sense that she’s in warm-up mode.

The Royals’ early goal came from a corner kick that slipped past Luvanga as she attempted to guard the near post, but her positives far outweighed that slip-up. Her hold-up play allowed Trinity Rodman to make the wide run that led to Cantore’s goal, and she delivered an exquisite cross with the outside of her foot in the second half to midfielder Melissa Bethi. Officials recalled the goal because Luvanga was offside in the buildup, but such is the warmup nature of her game. For a player like Luvanga, that will probably be a goal next time. — Tamerra Griffin

An Olimpico and Tanaka’s return not enough for the Royals

Utah came into Audi with a game plan after probably watching tape from last weekend’s quarterfinal romp when the Spirit dominated the Portland Thorns in a 4-1 win. The challenge is turning the intellectual understanding of a Rodman-Luvanga-Sofia Cantore frontline into a full 90 minutes of defending. While they gave Rodman perhaps a bit too much respect on the Spirit’s first goal by allowing her to make a run, they got the rest of that play right. Cantore crashing the box and pushing the ball with physicality and placement was too much.

So it’s understandable that the Royals left Audi feeling like they could have stolen that semifinal from the Spirit, but were undone by a single back pass. After last week, however, a mistake like that feels unforgivable.

Even with Mina Tanaka taking the pitch for the final 30 minutes, a win was already out of reach for the Royals. The Spirit forced them to defend wave after wave, and Utah couldn’t draw up anything truly dangerous from direct play. At least it can walk away with Lacasse’s Olimpico in the first five minutes as a brief moment of joy.

The Royals exit the playoffs after a remarkable 2026, and a statement upset win in the quarterfinals over the San Diego Wave. — Meg Linehan

Seeing double (lines on the pitch)

The football lines for the semifinal were unavoidable as soon as the Spirit successfully forced their way back into Audi Field for the match, resulting in a doubleheader with the Secretaries’ Cup (a Division III football game between the United States Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy). The football lines were a temporary annoyance, and to be fair, the field crew went all in on making those yellow lines visible for the Spirit. Sure, it was a throwback to the NWSL’s early days, but it could be a one-off problem, and one the league won’t mind (assuming those lines are fully scrubbed by next Saturday).

The bigger issue to monitor is the state of the pitch itself. Between the square patch of questionable-looking grass in the six-yard box at the supporters group end, and the general patchiness, combine 90 minutes of football with a full game of the other football … well. It might not be great, to say the least. — Linehan

Up next

The Spirit will await the winner of Gotham FC versus Kansas City Current on Sunday to determine who their opponent in the NWSL Championship on Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. MT at Audi Field.