Washington Spirit's Aubrey Kingsbury pins NWSL title hopes on team's 'never say die' fire

Fight till the very end, never give up. That's been the theme of Washington Spirit's season, which propelled them all the way to Saturday's NWSL Championship game against Orlando Pride.

If the Spirit emerge victorious on Saturday, it would be on the back of that fierce determination, fighting the odds at every turn, and a plain refusal to just not give in, no matter what.

That fighting spirit has been evident in the number of late goals they have, including winners they have managed this season. The Spirit have scored more goals after 80 minutes than any other team, starting with the comeback win over Bay FC in their home opener in March.

Dorian Bailey opened the scoring for the expansion team after just 11 minutes, but the home side fought back to tie it with rookie Hal Hershfelt's goal. Then Croix Bethune, the NWSL Rookie AND Midfielder of the Year, broke Bay hearts with the winner six minutes deep into injury time.

Those late goals accounted for about 20 percent of their tally for the regular season, they have come in eight of their 26 regular season games, and both of their playoff games. All have been hugely consequential to putting them where they are now, especially the last two.

Against Bay FC (again), they went behind to an Asisat Oshoala goal in the quarterfinal, but rallied to score on 86 and 96 minutes to win. In the semifinal against Gotham FC, they again went behind, but clawed their way back to tie it three minutes into stoppage time, and then advance on penalties.

It is in stark contrast to last season, when the team's biggest bane was giving up last minute goals. Goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury, a veteran of that 2021 championship winning campaign, told ESPN that the aim for this season was to eliminate those.

"That is the first thing we want to eliminate this season," she said at the beginning of the campaign. "It goes back to training. We are always competing.

"We have consistently trained that never say die mentality, that fight to the final whistle, that running in for rebounds. We don't take a second off and I think that has really come to show itself over the course of the season."

Kingsbury, who saved three penalties in the shootout against the Bats, added: "This year has been entirely different. We've been the ones winning the last minute games, scoring the last minute equalisers rather than conceding.

"As a team we have developed so much and there is just this belief, just like 2021 that we are never out of it. That whatever you throw at us, we are going to find a way to win.

"Although we've been behind in both playoff games, we never panicked, we knew it would come, even in the 92nd minute. We are just excited, we know we have just one more to go."

Defender Esme Morgan, who joined from Manchester City, told ESPN that their refusal to be beaten even when all seems lost, puts additional pressure on the opposition: "We never feel we are out of it.

"Even if we are multiple goals down, we always have the belief that we can come back. Now that we've got so many late winners under our belt, even other teams probably feel a little bit on edge towards the end of games because they know that we are never out of it and we will always keep fighting to come back."

Only one team might be exempt from those nerves, and it happens to be the very one they face on Saturday. Not only did Orlando do the double over the Spirit in the regular season, with 2-0 and 3-2 wins, they are also the stingiest side in the league after the 80-minute mark, only allowing one goal, to Seattle on 84 minutes in a game they went on to win 3-2. The last of their three goals come on 57 minutes, making that late Seattle goal all but academic.

This makes them the direct opposite of the Spirit, water to the Spirit's fire. Worse - for the Spirit - Orlando score the majority of their goals in the first half, which should be of real concern to Washington, as they are prone to going behind early.

In that respect, Saturday's title showdown is setting up to be the unstoppable force of the Washington Spirit's never say die fighting spirit (pun fully intended) versus the proud immovable object that is the Orlando Pride.

The Spirit will have to keep from going behind or doing so early, tough to do against the lethal strike duo of Barbra Banda and Marta. If they do, they'll have to find a way to answer without leaving it to the end against a team that just does not give up goals late in the game.

Injuries and new faces added hurdles

Washington's road to Kansas has been nothing if not pockmarked by bumps along the way. In fairness, some of it was to be expected, as the team was in full refresh mode, populated mostly by a combination of rookies from the 2023 and 2024 Draft classes and new signings.

Thirteen of their 29 players were acquired in the last two years, with eight of those coming in 2024, and almost all of those have come in and won starting places in the rotation.

Even head Coach Jonatan Giráldez only joined from Barcelona after the season had started, and he told ESPN that the team have earned their spot in the face of doubt, especially with key players going off to the Olympic Games, and then others getting injured at crucial moments.

"Maybe nobody thought that this season, the first season, with the changes that we have with rookies, with injuries, no way to get it," he said. "But I think that what we are doing behind the scenes is a great job.

"We are here because we deserve it. Nobody gave us anything. We deserve to win the last two games, because we created more chances. But I don't want to stay here, I want to keep moving forward.

"We did an important thing qualifying for the Final, but we have to be there. We have to prepare because I give my best to win a title because I know how important it is for the club."

As they go into that Championship game on Saturday, Kingsbury, whose penalty-saving heroics got them to the Final, is experiencing a bit of déjà vu: "I have similar feelings as 2021.

"That felt like destiny. I would say the same thing. Obviously we don't have the media circus and all the chaotic energy around us that we had in 2021. But on the flip side, it's all the positive stuff. We are well supported from the owner down to our support staff, everyone in this organisation.

"Being motivated from a really positive place has created a sustainable team. You have seen us continue to grow throughout the season, this team has become a fortress. Our players individually have developed so much.

"I have a lot of confidence in this team and it's not just out of nothing. There's reason behind that and it's because of how we train and compete every day. Since pre-season in pouring rain, we went all the way to California to just be rained on the whole time. But from day one, this entire organisation has been bought in.

"It's been hard. We don't get many days off, we are exhausted, we had players away at the Olympics, came back, dealt with a lot of injuries, Andi, Croix, Ouley, the list goes on. But it's just made us better, stronger together, more committed, more determined.

"We have a really humble, young team that really wants to fight for each other. I think its out of love for one another and love for Michele [Kang] and the vision for this club and I just have a lot of gratitude to be part of it."