Trinity Armstrong scored a header in the fifth minute of stoppage to hand San Diego Wave a dramatic 2-1 win over California rivals Bay FC in the National Women’s Soccer League on Sunday.
In the only other NWSL match, Gotham FC tied 0-0 with the Chicago Stars in New Jersey.
At San Diego's Snapdragon Stadium, the Wave opened the scoring when Maria Sanchez’s curling corner kick was headed in from six yards out by Kennedy Wesley in the fifth minute.
Bay answered quickly when Dorian Bailey forced a turnover, which allowed Racheal Kundananji to spread the ball to Karlie Lema, who took a few touches and squeezed a shot past Wave goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan in the 18th minute.
Referee Elvis Osmanovic awarded a penalty to San Diego after Bay defender Joelle Anderson got her legs tangled up with Wave winger Delphine Cascarino in the 25th minute. Bay goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz's athletic save prevented Sanchez from scoring. It was the first penalty save for Silkowitz in the NWSL.
In the dying moments, Armstrong, a 17-year-old rookie, scored her first professional goal to the delight of the home fans.
San Diego (4-2-1) is on a three game winning streak and moved up to third in the standings. Bay (2-3-2) ended the weekend in 10th.
Stars hold firm in scoreless tie with Gotham
Alyssa Naeher made five saves and the Stars held firm over the home team at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
It was the Stars' first clean sheet of the 2025 season. Naeher is now up to 50 career NWSL clean sheets, 45 of those coming with Chicago.
It was Chicago’s first game since firing coach Lorne Donaldson on Wednesday. Assistant coach Masaki Hemmi took charge as the interim in Donaldson’s place.
Gotham dominated but couldn’t find a way into the Stars’ well-marshaled box. The closest the hosts came to scoring was when Jaelin Howell crashed the crossbar with a long-range effort in the second half.
Gotham finished the game with 14 total shots to Chicago’s four. Gotham also had the lion’s share of possession (58%). The visiting Stars won 66% of the aerial duels.
Former UCLA Bruin Sofia Cook came off the bench to make her NWSL debut for Gotham in the 79th minute.
The tie keeps Gotham (3-2-3) third in the NWSL standings. The Stars (1-5-1) are glued to 14th, last place.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Theo Lloyd-hughes, The Associated Press
