FC Kansas City falls to Washington Spirit

Defending National Women’s Soccer League champion FC Kansas City scored its first goal of the season, but the Blues are still seeking their first victory after two games.

The Blues gave up three unanswered goals and fell 3-1 to the Washington Spirit at the Maryland Soccer Complex in Germantown, Md.

With the loss, FC Kansas City also fell to 2-3-1 in the all-time series with Washington.

“We are creating opportunities and creating shots, but the problem is that we are not putting them away,” FC Kansas City coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “We need to analyze the game and see what we can do different to get this turned around sooner rather than later.”

U.S. Women’s National Team member Heather O’Reilly, who was acquired through an offseason trade with the Boston Breakers, gave the Blues the early lead in the sixth minute, but it did not last long.

Christine Nairn scored the equalizer for the Spirit in the ninth minute. It was the Spirit’s first goal of the season.

The tie held until just after halftime when Washington’s Crystal Dunn recovered a rebound from Laura del Rio’s blocked shot and scored in the 46th minute. Nairn added a goal in the 64th minute. It was her fourth goal against FC Kansas City in as many games.

“We had a good rhythm going, and everything was fine until we made a mistake in the second half,” Andonovski said. “I think the second goal changed the dynamics of the game and didn’t allow us to play the way we wanted to play.”

FC Kansas City has a quick turnaround before Thursday night’s home opener at Swope Soccer Complex. The Blues host the Seattle Reign FC at 7 p.m.

This story was originally published April 18, 2015 at 8:44 PM with the headline "FC Kansas City falls to Washington Spirit."