Molly Brune and her daughter, Meera, at the National Women's Soccer League semifinal match at Audi Field. Photo courtesy of Diana Hernandez.Molly Brune and Vikas Mendhiratta are longtime soccer fans. The pair of Petworth residents played the sport in high school, own season tickets for D.C. United, and rooted for the Washington Freedom until the team was dissolved. They started seriously following the Washington Spirit last season—and this year, their one-year-old daughter, Meera, was old enough to join them to the home games at Audi Field. Meera’s attendance was good for more than her parents: Ever since Brune and Mendhiratta started bringing her around, the Spirit hasn’t lost a single home game. After Meera’s second Spirit game—both wins—her aunt Anna Brune, a social media marketer for the Capital City Go-Go, started posting pictures of Meera cheering on the team to X, paired with her winning track record. Eventually the Spirit caught on, posting Meera on its social media after the team’s semifinal win on November 16, dubbing her “the good luck charm baby.”   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Washington Spirit (@washingtonspirit) Fans flocked to the Spirit’s post with a resounding consensus: “I hope you’re flying her out for the championship match!” one fan commented, “GET THAT BABY TO KC,” said another. When Washingtonian originally reached out to the Brune sisters, they had no plans of going. They had asked the Spirit if they could attend the team’s sold-out watch party at Metrobar. Instead, the team surprised the Brunes with a flight, hotel, and tickets for Meera and her parents to attend the championship game at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City—the first stadium built specifically for women’s soccer.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Washington Spirit (@washingtonspirit) Meera’s planned attendance at the finals was officially announced Wednesday night on the Spirit’s social media, and fans were ecstatic— even the NWSL official Instagram weighed in, chanting “MEERA! MEERA! MEERA! MEERA!” in the comment section. Though she’s best known for helping her favorite team win at home, this won’t be Meera’s first away game. In fact, the first soccer game she ever went to was in Atlanta—she and her family flew out to watch the US Women’s National Team play back in April. “I thought it might be overwhelming [for her],” Molly Brune says, “But Meera really smiled and seemed excited to watch the game unfold.” The team, naturally, won 2-1 against Japan. My niece is 5.5 months old and she’s 3-0 when in attendance at womens soccer games. 2 @WashSpirit wins 1 @USWNT win A natural winner tbh pic.twitter.com/jOiSlYiuYI — AB (@abrunetweets) April 22, 2024 Now, as a seasoned fan, Meera does more than show up and help the Spirit win. She’s becoming more familiar with soccer—her mom says she squeals with excitement when riding the escalators to the Metro (she knows when she’s headed to Audi Field), claps along with the cheering crowd, and frequently points out the ball to her parents. “She’s not that into music generally, but at games, she really hangs on to it,” Molly Brune says. “When we score, I’ll pick her up and bounce her high in the sky—she loves that.” Meera and her family will fly out Friday to attend Saturday’s game in Kansas City, hoping to help the team of star-studded rookies manifest a win and continue Meera’s seven-game hot streak. Molly Brune says she’s excited to be a part of the playoff run, but she declines to attribute the team’s fortunes to her daughter. “Honestly, the Spirit are so good that we can’t really claim that it’s because of Meera.”The post The Washington Spirit Surprised Its “Good Luck Charm Baby” With a Trip to the Championship first appeared on Washingtonian.