Thanks to an 86th-minute goal from striker Jodie Taylor, San Diego Wave Fútbol Club earned its first regular-season victory as a member of the National Women’s Soccer League, 1-0 over the Houston Dash at PNC Stadium on Sunday evening.

The team was coming off playing six games during the 2022 Challenge Cup, which ended for them on April 23 with a 1-1 tie against OL Reign.

San Diego created the first clear scoring chance in the 7th minute when forward Sofia Jakobsson entered the box and had a one-on-one chance versus goalkeeper Jane Campbell but the shot ended up being deflected by the Houston defense.

The home team had their best scoring chance of the first half from a shot by forward Rachel Daly in the 44th minute that hit the crossbar with San Diego goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan having stretched out a moment earlier to prevent the score.

Houston would get another chance to take the lead in the 56th minute when forward Nichelle Prince tried a left-footed strike that went just wide of the right post.

San Diego then made a series of substitutions later in the second half in order to regain momentum, which included bringing on Jodie Taylor in the 66th minute and forward Katie Johnson in the 85th. These two substitutes paid dividends one minute later when they hooked up for the game-winning score thanks to Johnson heading the ball to Taylor who got by the defense to right-foot the ball into the back of the net.

“I’m extremely proud of this team and how far it has come,” said San Diego head coach Casey Stoney. “For me, the most pleasing thing is we’ve kept a clean sheet, and players have come off the bench yet again and made a huge difference to the game. It’s a massive three points on the road for us.”

San Diego now finds itself tied for first place in the NWSL standings with three points alongside the five other teams who also won in week one. San Diego returns home to Torero Stadium for a match-up versus Gotham FC, which is coming off a convincing 3-0 victory over the Orlando Pride, on Saturday, May 7.

Photo courtesy: San Diego Wave FC