Washington Spirit's Trinity Rodman scored twice to push her team past the Houston Dash at Audi Field. Rodman's second was a stoppage-time winner, coming just moments after the Dash had equalized near the 90-minute mark.

What happened?

The NWSL returned this weekend after a month-long league-wide break, and it did not take long for the drama to come back with it. There were stoppage-time winners, upsets, statement performances, and braces from some of the league’s biggest names.

Why it matters for Washington Spirit

The win is significant for the Spirit, who are currently 2nd in NWSL Women, 44 pts, 12W-8D-6L from 26 games, with a recent form of LWWLL, and are looking to close the 21-point gap with leaders Kansas City W.

What comes next?

The Spirit will look to build on this momentum as they face their next opponents, with the team having scored 42 goals and conceded 33 this season, and a goal difference of +9. The San Diego Wave picked up where they left off, beating Gotham FC 2-0 to stay top of the standings. Utah Royals FC, one of the surprise stories of the first half of the season, were narrowly edged by the Chicago Stars, falling 3-2 and dropping to fourth. Another highlight of the weekend came in Portland, where Sophia Wilson scored her 50th NWSL regular-season goal as the Thorns blew past Racing Louisville 4-0 on Sunday. As the NWSL season heats up, the Spirit will look to continue their strong performance and make a push for the top spot, with Trinity Rodman and other key players leading the charge.