San Diego Wave came out with an important 1-0 road victory on Saturday evening over the Chicago Red Stars to put the team, led by head coach Casey Stoney, back on top of the NWSL standings.
The only goal of the match came in the 27th minute courtesy of recently signed 17-year-old forward Jaedyn Shaw who scored her first NWSL goal. Before joining San Diego, Shaw was invited to train with the reigning champion Washington Spirit during the spring as a preseason non-roster invitee.
Her goal came courtesy of a quick pass from midfielder Katie Johnson who got by the Chicago defense and found Shaw streaking into the box where she slipped the ball past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.
The second half saw San Diego Wave receive a red card in the 59th minute, after defender Abby Dahlkemper received her second yellow, leaving the team with only 10 players for the rest of the game. Chicago looked to take advantage in the 81st minute when defender Naomi Girma was called for a penalty. But San Diego goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan stepped up big and blocked the PK attempt by forward Mallory Pugh.
San Diego Wave now has 25 points, which is one more than second-place Portland Thorns who they face on Aug. 27. Next up for San Diego Wave is a rematch with Kansas City Current on Sunday, Aug. 7 at Torero Stadium.
SAN DIEGO LOYAL
San Diego Loyal came out with another come-from-behind victory on Saturday, July 30 against reigning USL Championship title holder Orange County SC at Championship Stadium in Irvine.
San Diego fell behind early when forward Milan Iloski scored in the 10th minute off a shot that was originally blocked by defender Grant Stoneman but bounced back to Iloski who was able to beat goalkeeper Koke Vegas on the second attempt.
Stoneman got his revenge in the 39th minute when he headed the ball in the back of the net after a perfectly executed corner kick by midfielder Charlie Adams to tie the game 1-1. Iloski would make his presence felt yet again in the 66th minute when he scored his league-leading 16th goal of the season off a left-footed shot from outside the box giving OC a 2-1 lead.
Adams made sure that lead did not last long when he found teammate Thomas Amang in the 69th minute who then headed the ball in from close range despite the best efforts of goalkeeper Colin Shutler. San Diego scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute when Amang found teammate Evan Conway running down the middle of the field and shot it from 18 yards out into the top corner of the net for the 3-2 final.
This was Conway’s second game-winning goal in as many weeks and came in off the bench late in the game providing a much-needed spark. The victory puts San Diego Loyal all alone in second place with 43 points three ahead of Colorado Springs and seven points behind San Antonio FC who they play on Saturday, Aug. 6 at Torero Stadium.
Hector Trujillo has been covering soccer starting with the San Diego State University men’s soccer team in 2003 for The Daily Aztec. A graduate of SDSU where he received his B.A. and M.A. degrees, Trujillo has a lifelong passion for playing and writing about the beautiful game.
Photos courtesy of San Diego Wave and San Diego Loyal.
