Preview: Washington Spirit Returns Home to Host Utah Royals FC
Spirit will meet Royals in midweek matchup at Audi Field, fans can catch Crashed Chords on the concourse before kickoff
Washington, D.C. (03/24/2026) – The Washington Spirit will return home Wednesday night for a midweek meeting with Utah Royals FC at Audi Field. This match will be the Spirit’s last home fixture until late April as it prepares to hit the road for a few away contests. Tickets are still available at WashingtonSpirit.com/tickets. Kicking off at 7 p.m. EDT, the match will stream both locally and nationally on Victory+ for Spirit fans unable to attend.
On the Pitch
Washington will host Utah for the first time since last May’s action-packed 3-3 draw in which the Spirit netted an equalizer in the 12th minute of second half stoppage time to save a draw and take a point. The Spirit enters Wednesday night’s match coming off another draw, this one with a score of 2-2 in Louisville against Racing. The visitors’ two goals came off the feet of Sofia Cantore and Leicy Santos, both assisted by Rosemonde Kouassi, for Washington’s first two scores of 2026.
The Spirit earned its point last weekend the hard way as it came from multiple goals down to do so. This was just the second time since 2015 the club was able to overcome a multi-goal deficit to avoid coming away empty-handed. In the process, Kouassi dished her way to sixth on the club’s all-time regular season assist leaderboard, passing teammate Tara Rudd and Spirit legend Tori Huster.
Both the Spirit and Utah will look to get their first wins of 2026 this week as Washington has one draw and one loss while Royals FC has two losses. Utah opened its campaign with a 1-2 loss in Kansas City before dropping its home opener 1-2 to San Diego.
Utah enters the week currently on an 11-match scoring streak, having not been shut out since last August. This hot streak follows a run last season in which Royals FC was shut out in nine out of 15 matches throughout the first half of 2025. The side’s two goals this season have been scored by Tatumn Milazzo and Lara Prašnikar, two players that were not available for much of last season for Utah. Milazzo missed the year recovering from an ACL injury while Prašnikar didn’t join the team until the fall after transferring from Germany.
Royals FC is helped in the attack by Cece Delzer as well, who has scored four goals against the Spirit across her NWSL career, tied for her most against a single opponent. Look for the Spirit to lean on the strength of its defending third to limit a strong Utah attack on Wednesday night as it looks for its first clean sheet of the season.
The Spirit holds a 3-5-2 all-time record against Utah including a 2-1-1 record since the Royals rejoined the NWSL in 2024. The Spirit swept Utah in 2024 before drawing the first matchup of 2025 and losing the second with a shorthanded roster ahead of the start of the playoffs. Washington also brings a -2 goal differential (8-10) in the series into Wednesday night’s meeting.
Around the Stadium
As fans enter Audi Field on Wednesday night, they’ll be able to enjoy music from local DMV pop rock band Crashed Chords on the Spirit Stage. Crashed Chords has quickly become a staple at Audi Field, having performed at several Spirit matches throughout the team’s 2025 run back to the NWSL Championship.
After their first Audi Field appearance at the season opener, the Spirit Crew Entertainment Team will be back again on Wednesday to continue entertaining fans from the time gates open until the stadium lights turn off. Assembled this offseason, the Spirit Crew is the first ever co-ed NWSL entertainment team. They will take the field pregame hyping up the fans with tumbling and bringing the energy on the pitch before the players take the field and partake in a halftime t-shirt toss.
Spiritville will continue to feature activations that fans will be sure to love on Wednesday night. In addition to fan-favorites like the temporary tattoo station, poster-making station and yard games, Spiritville will feature even more photo areas for fans to immortalize their visits to Audi Field. The concourse will also feature several new concessions options that debuted at the season opener earlier this month. Around the southeast corner of the stadium will be food truck row with four unique food truck options to provide even more variety on matchday. In addition to a new pizza stand at the stadium, the north concourse will be home to a new vegan vending machine for inclusive options.
Before kickoff on Wednesday night, Audi Field will experience another custom light show thanks to the Spirit’s new fan-first tech. Fans will be able to turn their phones into part of the show themselves by scanning a QR code available in-stadium and join the fun. The code will take you to a web page that will ask to enable permissions to your phone flashlight. Once you click accept you’re in the show! Make sure to keep the tab open until it’s time for the show to begin. Once closer, you’ll notice the screen will change. The light show will begin before procession to welcome your favorite Spirit players out of the tunnel in style.
Following the light show, the national anthem will be performed by Rachel Ferguson tomorrow night, with ASL interpretation by Jillian Regen. DC’s Metropolitan Police Department color guard will present the flags alongside them. At halftime, soccer action will continue down on the pitch with seven-on-seven matches between players from local St. James Academy and the Player Progression Academy (PPA).
About The Washington Spirit
The Washington Spirit is the premier professional women’s soccer team based in Washington, D.C. and plays at Audi Field in Buzzard Point. The Spirit was founded on November 21, 2012 and is an inaugural member of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) the fastest growing sports league in the US. The club is home to some of the best players in the world who have won championships for both club and country. For more information about the Spirit, visit WashingtonSpirit.com and follow the club on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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