Jaedyn Shaw scored her fifth goal of the season as the San Diego Wave defeated the Houston Dash 1-0 on Sunday night in front of nearly 25,000 home fans at Snapdragon Stadium.
With the win, San Diego (9-6-3) took sole possession of first place in the National Women’s Soccer League. Just four points separate the Wave and the sixth-place Washington Spirit in the final playoff spot, with four matches remaining in the regular season.
In the 33rd minute, Houston’s Michelle Alozie was given a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity when she fouled Rachel Hill about 50 yards from goal.
San Diego took advantage of the extra player in the second half and put significant pressure on the Dash.
Alex Morgan volleyed a shot off the crossbar in the 55th minute. Shaw put a header just wide soon after, and Morgan followed with another shot off the post.
Moments later, Shaw finally broke through, collecting a pass from Christen Westphal in the box and taking a touch around goalkeeper Jane Campbell before slotting the ball into the goal from a tight angle.
The Wave kept attacking Houston’s goal, finishing with 33 shots, but defender Caprice Dydasco cleared a shot off the line and Campbell made nine saves to keep the Dash (4-6-8) in the match.
RED STARS 2, SPIRIT 0
Bianca St-Georges and Yuki Nagasato scored in the second half to lead the Chicago Red Stars over the Washington Spirit at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.
The Red Stars went ahead in the 48th minute when St-Georges ran onto Casey Krueger’s cross from the left, powering a shot into the net with her head.
Chicago doubled its lead in the 60th minute. Some great combination passing found Penelope Hocking toward the end line on the left side of the box. She cut it back across the goal for Nagasato, who scooped it in from close range.
Chicago’s two goals came off five total shots, while Washington peppered the Red Stars with 22 shots but goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher made eight saves to seal the shutout win.
The Red Stars (6-10-2) are 6-1-0 when scoring first this season. With the loss, the Spirit (6-4-8) fell to 6th place and the final playoff spot.
REIGN 1, PRIDE 0
Jordyn Huitema scored the lone goal as OL Reign took down the Orlando Pride at Lumen Field in Seattle.
In the third minute, Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse tripped Bethany Balcer on a breakaway and was given a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity, forcing Orlando to play with 10 for the rest of the match.
The Pride held firm in the first half, with substitute goalkeeper Carly Nelson coming up with several big saves, but Huitema finally got the Reign on the board in the 49th minute. Rose Lavelle’s shot was pushed away and fell to Huitema at the top of the box, who powered it down the middle and into the net.
Nelson finished with six saves for the Pride (7-10-1). The win moved the Reign (8-7-3) up to fourth.
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