Ashley Hatch climbed the NWSL's all-time leading scoring list on Sunday.
The former BYU Cougar scored twice in the Washington Spirits' 3-0 victory over the Houston Dash. Her second goal of the match was her 50th career goal. She is the seventh NWSL player to score 50 regular season goals, according to the Spirit .
Hatch's first goal of the game came by the way of a penalty kick in the seventh minute. It was a historic penalty for Hatch.
Sunday's penalty means Hatch has a perfect penalty conversion rate in the regular season, going 10-for-10. She is the first NWSL player to take over six penalties and successfully convert all of them.
Her 10 successful penalties are the fourth most in the league's history.
Hatch's performance earned her praise from her head coach, Jonatan Giráldez, after the game.
Giráldez noted Hatch's impact goes beyond the goals she scores.
"Hatchy is always available and with a good attitude in training. She is doing a good job in possession, out of possession. Today, she scored two goals, but that is not the most important thing. Strikers must score goals, but everything that we asked of her today, especially receiving in pocket and playing the way she faced and after that, running to the goal. She did a good job today playing two-sided identifying the best choice. Without the ball, she did a good job, too," Giráldez said, per the Spirit .
This season has been different than past seasons for Hatch with fewer starts and a different role. She was asked after the game what it meant to score from her usual striker position again.
"I obviously love scoring goals, but most importantly, I love playing for this team, so anytime I get on the pitch, I am really excited. I'm just really happy with the team's performance today. I'm just excited that I was able to contribute. It always means a lot to be able to step on Audi Field with the Spirit," Hatch said.
With the win, the Spirit clinched a spot in this year's NWSL playoffs.
The important step is only the beginning, Hatch said.
"I am just excited, lots excitement and energy around. Obviously, clinching playoffs is huge. I think we deserve it. We've been working really hard, but the job is not done. It actually just started. I think that was our focus going into this game, and that is going to be our focus going forward. I am excited about the spot that we are in because we are going to continue to improve," Hatch.
