Aubrey Bledsoe dove to her right, her shoulder plowing into the ground as she threw herself toward her right-hand post.
Arms out-stretched, Bledsoe, the Washington Spirit's starting goalkeeper, managed to push Katie Johnson's shot wide in the 25th minute against the Chicago Red Starts of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) championship match Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville.
That was the first of several big moments on the day for Bledsoe, who also celebrated her birthday Saturday.
More than a decade on from her time as a decorated Greater Cincinnati prep star at St. Ursula Academy, Bledsoe, now 30, has starred for years on the NWSL stage, which is billed as the strongest women's soccer league in the world.
Not too long ago, Bledsoe was being named to the ESPN Rise All-Area team and Cincinnati Enquirer All-Star. On Saturday, Bledsoe's Spirit claimed the NWSL championship with a 2-1 victory against Chicago.
With Bledsoe back-stopping in net in a performance that ultimately garnered Championship Game Most Valuable Player honors, U.S. women's national team veterans Andi Sullivan and Kelley O'Hara provided the offense.
After Rachel Hill opened the scoring for Chicago in first-half added time with a header at Bledsoe's back post, Sullivan tied the game from the penalty spot in the 67th minute.
Washington out-shot Chicago, 15-1, in the second half and the onslaught continued into extra time.
O'Hara's headed goal arrived in the 97th minute.
Bledsoe was called upon in the 112th minute as she snared a Chicago attempt that took a deflection on the way in.
In the 115th minute, she collected a cross heading for a dangerous position.
In the 117th minute, Bledsoe made what was arguably the play of the match when she stonewalled Makenzy Doniak, who snuck in behind Washington's back line and had a clear shot on goal.
Clutch plays like that have contributed to numerous accolades in recent years for Bledsoe.
Bledsoe was named Goalkeeper of the Year in NWSL in 2019, and last week received the honor again for the 2021 season.
The award followed the Spirit's Nov. 14 semifinal road victory against OL Reign, which is the home club of noted Cincinnatian and FIFA World Cup winner, Rose Lavelle.
![ORLANDO, FL - JULY 07: Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe (1) kicks the ball during the soccer match between the Orlando Pride and the Washington Spirit on July 7, 2018 at Orlando City Stadium in Orlando FL. (Photo by Joe Petro/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images) ORG XMIT: 307875 [Via MerlinFTP Drop]](https://cdn.cincylink.com/pub/content/uploads/sites/27/2021/11/Cincinnati-product-Aubrey-Bledsoe-Washington-Spirit-claim-NWSL-championship.jpg)
The championship was finishing touch on Bledsoe's award-winning 2021 season. She started in all 24 matches she appeared in during the regular season, logging 2,190 minutes for the year.
Her 78 saves were third-best in the NWSL, and her nine shutouts were joint-second-most.
Cincinnati products injured for NWSL final
But for injuries, there might have been even more significant Cincinnati flavor in Saturday's NWSL final, which was attended by 10,360.
The Washington Spirit roster has three Cincinnati natives, including Tori Huster and Bayley Feist but Huster, who was unavailable for the title game due to an injury, was a St. Ursula product like Bledsoe. Huster would go on to play her college soccer at Florida State.
Prior to playing collegiate soccer at Wake Forest, Feist honed her craft at Oak Hills. She suffered an ACL injury in April.
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