San Diego Wave fell to sixth place in the NWSL standings after losing 2-1 to OL Reign at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday night. The game saw the Wave get behind early when forward  Bethany Balcer scored on a header inside the box that beat Wave goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan in the 8th minute.

Despite the visitors taking the 1-0 lead into halftime, San Diego was able to regroup to start the second half and tie the game in the 47th minute when forward Alex Morgan found teammate Jaedyn Shaw three yards in front of goalkeeper Phallon Abaigeal Tullis-Joyce. That’s when the 18-year-old phenom scored on a beautiful header helping the home team regain the momentum.

The Wave looked to be on the verge of its first victory against the team from Seattle, but that’s when Balcer made her presence felt again scoring on another header in the 77th minute of an excellent cross by teammate Sofia Huerta.

Wave was unable to find a tying goal with the best opportunity coming in the 84th minute when Morgan found forward Amirah Ali but her left-footed shot went just wide. To make matters worse, the team, led by head coach Casey Stoney, saw a red card issued to goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan in the 91st minute after the referee deemed upon a VAR review that she intentionally fouled forward Elyse Bennett.

San Diego has 20 points after 13 matches and will now travel to face Angel City in Challenge Cup play on Wednesday, July 28.

Albion San Diego came out with a dramatic 1-1 draw versus the Michigan Stars at Canyon Crest Academy Stadium on Saturday evening.

The game was a rematch of the 2022 NISA championship and, just like on that occasion, it was the Stars who took the early lead when forward  Leon Maric took advantage of a mistake from goalkeeper Ben Roach and then crossed the ball into the box to the waiting foot of teammate Hunter Olson who calmly tapped the ball in the back of the net.

The visitors almost extended the lead on their next possession when Maric found Olson streaking down the side, but the shot went just wide as it grazed the right post defended by Roach. Albion was able to regain its composure along with more of the possession, which paid off in the 33rd minute when midfielder Tyler Gabarra took a shot that bounced off the crossbar as teammate Corey Lundeen beat the Michigan defenders to the rebound and headed the ball past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Tatenda Mkuruva.

Albion San Diego controlled the tempo of the match and possession of the ball for the remainder of the first half and the start of the second half but that changed in the 55th minute when midfielder Ronaldo Pineda received a red card. The card was issued after something the referee allegedly heard forced the home side to play a man down for the rest of the game.

Despite the setback, the team, led by head coach Diego Gomez, stood tall and repelled all the advances from the Stars including one in the final minute of the match when defender Andrew Kleszewski blocked a close-range shot to salvage the draw. Albion now sits in third place of the NISA standings with 15 points and will take on LA Force in its next game on July 8 at Canyon Crest Academy.

San Diego Loyal fell 2-1 to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Saturday at Highmark Stadium dropping the team, led by head coach Nate Miller, to sixth-place in the USL Championship western conference standings. The Loyal took the lead in the 42nd minute when midfielder Adrien Perez took a left-footed shot from just outside the box that found the top corner beating goalkeeper Luis Zamudio. Perez almost extended the lead in the 63rd minute when he caught Zamudio off his line taking a shot from 30 yards out that the Pittsburgh goalkeeper could barely block.

The Riverhounds tied the game in the 68th minute when midfielder Marc Ybarra found forward Tola Showunmi in front of goal where he beat goalkeeper Koke Vegas with a nifty backheel right-footed shot.

Just when it looked like both sides would have to settle for a draw, the Riverhounds scored the game-winner in the 91st minute off a free-kick from midfielder Burke Fahling that found the head of the defender Abdul Illal Osumanu beat Vegas and gave the home team the victory. San Diego Loyal now travels to Indiana to take on Indy Eleven, looking for its first victory since May 20.

Photos: Jerry Leonards, John Cocozza Photography, San Diego Loyal