In a match rife with penalty cards, the San Diego Wave fell 2-1 to host Seattle Reign despite forward Kyra Carusa’s first goal of the season.
Ten penalty cards (eight yellow, two red) were given, surpassing the most (eight in 2015 and 2018) in any National Women’s Soccer League match.
The cards were evenly distributed with five to each team.
“We should have won the game,” said head coach Casey Stoney, “and there’s no excuse for that, but we don’t have time to sulk.”
She added: “Ultimately, we have chances. We have shots on goal, and they’re not good enough.”
The Wave (2-2-1, 7 points) was without injured veterans Alex Morgan, Naomi Girma, Abby Dahlkemper and Sofia Jakobsson. Melanie Barcenas also was out with an injured hip.
San Diego provided pressure immediately to begin the first half. In the ninth minute, Reign forward Tziarra King was issued a red card after referee Danielle Chesky consulted with VAR and determined there was violent conduct.
Just two minutes later, the Wave opened the scoring when defender Kennedy Wesley’s well-placed free kick landed in the box and bounced around until finding the feet of Caursa.
The San Diego native took one shot that rebounded off the crossbar but fell directly back to Carusa, who was there to finish the chance with a volley.
Seattle landed an equalizer in the 35th minute when an errant touch was intercepted by forward Bethany Balcer, who slipped it into the goal, past goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.
Forward Veronica Latsko directed a free kick with her head for the game-winning goal in the 89th minute.
Kristen McNabb received a red card in the 90+ minute after a confrontation with a Seattle player.
Forward Elyse Bennett and defender Kaitlyn Torpey earned their first regular season starts of the season.
The Wave continues a three-game week, returning home to face Utah Royals on Wednesday, May 8, at Snapdragon Stadium. The match will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.