It’s not surprising anymore when 18-year-old Jaedyn Shaw strikes a goal for the San Diego Wave. After all, Sunday night’s winner was her eighth career goal.
That second-half shot to the back of the net at Snapdragon Stadium against Houston Dash (4-6-8, 20 points) moved the Wave (9-6-3, 30 points) into first place in the NWSL standings with a third consecutive victory.
The last time San Diego recorded a three-game win streak was May 2022. Attendance on Sunday was announced at 24,936.
“To get three wins in a row in this league is really, really difficult,” said Assistant Coach Louis Hunt. “And not something that teams do too often. So the fact that we’ve been able to do it, after the run that we were on prior, is massive, and it’s put us in a really, really strong position.”
The 1-0 final score would have been much higher had it not been for the nine superb saves by Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell.
Meanwhile, Wave goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan didn’t need to make any saves because Houston had no shots on target.
“Our biggest thing has just been work ethic these past couple of weeks,” Sheridan said. “I think we know that if we work harder than the other team on any day, we’re going to come out on top.”
Houston began playing a person down after the 33rd minute when Michelle Alozie was given a red card by the referee for a bad foul against Wave forward Rachel Hill.
In the first half, the Wave recorded nine shots and three shots on goal. Hill recorded the match’s first shot on goal in the fifth minute with a strike from outside the box.
Wave forward Alex Morgan nearly scored twice as she searched for the night’s opening goal with a header in the 29th minute, followed by another chance in the 28th minute that was saved in the bottom left corner.
In the 56th minute, Morgan continued her barrage on goal and shot the ball off the crossbar. One minute later, Morgan followed up with a shot that hit the left post.
A Wave goal finally came in the 57th minute from Shaw for a 1-0 lead. Defender Christen Westphal sent a through ball from the backline to Shaw who fired it from the right side of the six-yard box and into the bottom left corner for her eighth goal of the regular season.
The San Diego Wave continued to apply pressure to Houston throughout the rest of the match recording a total of 33 shots and 12 on target to Houston’s zero shots on goal before the final whistle blew.
Shaw’s goal ties the NWSL record for goals by a teenager, held by Mallory (Pugh) Swanson, who scored eight for the Washington Spirit before she turned 20.
Said Shaw: “We got a lot of chances and somehow they were just not going in the goal, and it just felt really good to be able to put one in the back of the net.”
Wave forward Sofia Jakobsson played in her first NWSL match since earning a bronze medal with Sweden at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, entering in the 60th minute.
Midfielder Emily van Egmond made her first appearance and first start since leaving for the World Cup, where she helped Australia make its furthest run in team history, coming in fourth place.
“I think we’ve missed Em (van Egmond) badly when she’s not been here for the World Cup and injured early on in the season because she’s such an intelligent soccer player that gets the game and gets the nuances and makes good decisions and makes the team tick,” Hunt said. “So having her back in was really, really important for us.”
Midfielder Taylor Kornieck returned to the pitch after suffering an injury in the Wave’s Challenge Cup match on July 28 in Seattle against the OL Reign. Kornieck entered the match in the 71st minute for Shaw.
Abby Dahlkemper didn’t play in Sunday’s match due to a “minor setback,” Hunt said. Doctors are evaluating her.
Dash player Michelle Olanzie received a red card in the 33rd minute, and Sheridan went over to comfort her.
“I just know those feelings in that moment,” Sheridan said. “Obviously, it happened to me a few weeks ago and it’s been happening a lot lately, and it can be a really challenging moment to deal with and mentally take on. I know in that moment I was a bit of a mental head case.
“I think the biggest thing is to not let that moment define you and I really just, yeah, I just want to make sure that – I know how it felt for me, I want to make sure it doesn’t happen to anybody else – they don’t feel alone in that moment.”
A postmatch ceremony honored Wave and Dash players who performed in the World Cup.
Following a weekend off, San Diego Wave will host the KC Current at Snapdragon Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, for the club’s Latino Heritage Night. The match will be streamed on Paramount+.
