2024-06-27T17:51:18.807ZSpirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt and Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy battle for the ball Saturday at Audi Field. (Brad Mills/USA Today Sports) Ashley Sanchez barely made it out of the tunnel for warmups when she received her first hug. The North Carolina Courage forward, who spent four years and won a NWSL championship with the Washington Spirit, had returned to Audi Field on a muggy Saturday night. An early-arriving fan shouted, “We miss you, Ashley!” And when Sanchez was introduced before the game, the crowd welcomed her with a hearty roar.Those cheers were more muted in the 19th minute, when Sanchez, now wearing the Courage’s highlighter pink kits, ripped a blast past Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury from just outside the box. It was the only goal of the game as North Carolina halted Washington’s six-match unbeaten streak (5-0-1).WATCH THIS.Ashley Sanchez scores a banger against her former team ???? pic.twitter.com/X84uiR6Wqw— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 29, 2024 During the offseason, Washington traded Sanchez to North Carolina for the fifth pick in the draft. The deal worked out well for the Spirit (10-4-1), which used the selection on standout midfielder Hal Hershfelt.At the time, Sanchez said she was “shocked and heartbroken.” On Saturday before a crowd of 15,717 — the fourth largest in Spirit history — her right-footed shot glanced off Kingsbury’s fingertips and into the net to put her new team ahead. Before coming off for a substitute in the 89th minute, Sanchez had a team-high four shots for North Carolina (7-7-1).Ashley Sanchez had the game's lone goal. (Hannah Foslien/USA Today Sports) The loss concluded a busy week for the Spirit, which formally introduced Jonatan Giráldez as its next full-time coach Tuesday. While the former Barcelona manager has been involved in training sessions, interim coach Adrián González remained on the bench Saturday. González will continue in his role through Washington’s match next Saturday at Bay FC, its last in league play before the Olympic break.“We thought that [Giráldez] needed some time to know the players, to get information, to get adapted to the environment,” González told reporters Friday. “We didn’t want to put him also in that scenario, just arriving and just sitting on the bench, without knowing all the staff.”THAT'S OUR COACH!Head Coach Jonatan Giráldez on his decision to join the Washington Spirit pic.twitter.com/DCWtxx4Sei— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) June 25, 2024 The next day, striker Trinity Rodman and defender Casey Krueger were among the 18 players named to the U.S. women’s national team’s Olympic roster. The 33-year-old Krueger, who received attention from trainers twice in Saturday’s second half after a hard challenge by Courage midfielder Meredith Speck, was left off the roster for the World Cup in 2019 and 2023, and she was an alternate during the pandemic-altered Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She said she was looking forward to her first “true Olympics.”“I was kind of in shock for a few days, being perfectly honest, just fighting, fighting, fighting for this moment and being told no so many times,” Krueger said Friday. “It’s been a long journey and a lot of ups and downs, a lot of emotions. And I think, when it finally set in, I have such a feeling of just being so grateful and feeling so blessed to finally get this opportunity and to feel like I’ve earned it.”