After months without professional sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a D.C-area team finally returned to action last night.

The Washington Spirit of the National Women’s Soccer League defeated the Chicago Red Stars 2-1 on Saturday in a preliminary match of the NWSL Challenge Cup. The 23-game tournament is being played at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. No fans are in attendance, but the broadcasts have piped in crowd noise on TV.

It was the second game in the tournament. The Spirit play again Wednesday against the two-time defending champion North Carolina Courage. The tournament is expected to be the only play the NWSL will see this year.

Eight of the nine NWSL teams are participating. The Orlando Pride withdrew last week after six players and four staff tested positive for coronavirus. However, those results are now in question.

Rose Lavelle, one of the heroes of last year’s World Cup-winning team, scored in the 7th minute to put the Spirit up 1-0.

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Former BYU star Ashley Hatch scored the second goal for the Spirit.

The game wasn’t only notable for the final score or that it was played. Prior to the game, Spirit head coach Richie Burke pledged that he would kneel during the national anthem to “recognize the struggle of players, friends, teammates and former opponents have had with racism.” During the pre-game warmups, every player on both teams wore “Black Lives Matter” shirts, and most joined Burke in kneeling.

Red Stars’ defender Casey Short, who is Black, cried during the national anthem. She was quickly embraced by team captain and USA’s soccer 2019 Female Athlete of the Year Julie Ertz.

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The NWSL is the first of several U.S. professional sports leagues planning to restart competition in the coming weeks.

The defending champion Washington Mystics will begin their season at the end of July in Bradenton, Florida. The NBA’s restart, which will include the Washington Wizards, will begin next month in Orlando, Florida.

The Washington Capitals is also expected to play in a round-robin style tournament to determine the Stanley Cup champion in July in one of several hub cities.

The Washington Nationals will reportedly play their opening game against the New York Yankees at Nats Park on July 23 or 24. That is if the city allows it. The Nationals are still waiting on the approval of event waivers from D.C. so that they can exceed the mass gathering limits imposed in Phase Two. The 2020 MLB season will have 60 games with playoffs in October, barring any coronavirus issues.

This is the Washington Spirit’s seventh season competing in the NWSL. They normally play their home games at Audi Field and Maryland Soccerplex in Germantown. In 2019, the team finished with nine wins, seven draws and eight losses but missed the four-team playoff.