San Diego Wave coach Casey Stoney expressed relief that her team broke a winless streak with a 2-1 victory Saturday over NJ/NY Gotham at Snapdragon Stadium via goals by Makenzy Doniak and Amirah Ali.

“It was not our best performance,” Stoney said, “but to be honest, I don’t care. We won.”

Noting that her NWSL club hasn’t had a “lot of luck in the last seven, eight games,” she added: “It was a massive three points to stop the run we were on. We can now use this confidence to build on the road.”

Stoney was asked about media reports that she was being considered for national team coach in the wake of Team USA’s earlier-than-expected exit from the Women’s World Cup.

“I’m very happy where I am,” she said. “Our club is building something very special. I’m invested in my players, and I will stay invested in my players.”

Doniak scored her third goal of the season in the 17th minute to open the scoring. Midfielder Meggie Dougherty Howard started the play with a throw-in that found midfielder Jaedyn Shaw on the right side of the 18-yard-box.

The 18-year-old beat two Gotham players before crossing it into Doniak’s path in the center of the box where she perfectly timed her run and shot into the top right corner of the net.

San Diego (6-6-3, 24 points) doubled its lead in the 85th minute when second-half substitute Amirah Ali connected on her second goal of the season.

San Diego native Melanie Barcenas started a sequence for the Wave as the midfielder passed it through to Ali. The forward took her first touch of the game past a diving Gotham goalkeeper and slotted to the back of the net.

Barcenas became the youngest player in league history to earn an assist at 15 years, 9 months and 3 weeks old.

Gotham (7-5-4, 25 points) pulled one back in stoppage time, but San Diego earned all three points to capture the win — its first since April 1 that counted in the standings.

Forward Alex Morgan was back in the starting lineup following her return from the FIFA Women’s World Cup with the U.S. Women’s National Team. She received a warm welcome from the crowd.

Naomi Girma, who has been commended in the media for her strong defensive play in the World Cup, was on the bench Saturday because she just returned to training.

Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan returned from the World Cup after starting every match for the Canadian National Team. Sheridan was out of this match due to a red card in the club’s regular season match June 24.

In a pre-match celebration, the team marked Doniak’s 100th NWSL appearance on July 8. Doniak has made a total of 30 appearances for the Wave since joining in the club’s inaugural season.

San Diego hits the road to Florida to face the Orlando Pride at 4 p.m. Pacific Friday, August 25, at Exploria Stadium. The match will be broadcast locally on FOX 5 and streamed nationally on Paramount+.