Seattle Reign FC (5-4-2, 17 points, T-5th NWSL) scored twice from outside the box in the second half to end San Diego Wave FC’s (6-3-2, 20 points, 2nd NWSL) club-record six-match unbeaten streak on a rainy Friday night at Snapdragon Stadium.
The match was scoreless until Reign midfielder Sally Menti scored the match’s first goal in the 67th minute with a stellar strike from beyond the arc and forward Emeri Adames put the go-ahead score in the top right corner of the goal in the 87th minute.
"Honestly, I don’t think we need to change ourselves. We don’t need to change who we are because that’s what got us here,” said Delphine Cascarino, who scored the Wave’s only goal. “Of course we can evaluate the mistakes we’ve made, but ultimately, we've got to the end and that’s what we want to be known for.”
Cascarino scored on a header off a corner kick from Maria Sanchez, who just entered the match three minutes prior, to tie the match at one goal apiece in the 75th minute. Cascarino nearly scored a brace when her shot in the 77th minute was just barely deflected by Seattle goalkeeper Claudia Dickey and bounced off the goal post twice.
The Wave’s last loss came at home on April 12 against the first-place Kansas City Current. The previous club record of five consecutive matches without a loss was set in 2023.
The San Diego defense limited the Reign to no shots in the first half while the Wave put one of three shots on target.
Seattle’s nine goals scored and nine goals allowed entering the match made them the second least scoring team and third-least scored upon team in the NWSL. The 18 goals scored in matches involving the Reign are the least in the league.
The Wave’s missed chances in both halves proved costly. Melanie Barcenas stole the ball in the goalkeeper’s box and passed it to Adriana Leon whose shot went wide in the 22nd minute. Savannah McCaskill connected with Trinity Armstrong off a corner kick. Armstrong’s deflection off the head was saved by Dickey in the 64th minute.
Kristen McNabb defended against Seattle attacker Nerilia Mondesir for the majority of the opening half. McNabb got in front of Mondesir to prevent a dangerous one-on-one chance in the 29th minute and again in the 34th minute. Her press against Mondesir forced a bad pass in the box in the 31st minute.
Cascarino had a chance early on as she ran across midfield but was grabbed from behind by Seattle captain and defender Lauren Barnes, resulting in a yellow card for Barnes in the 14th minute.
Up next: The Wave travel to Houston next week for a matchup with the Houston Dash (3-5-2, 11 points, 12th NWSL) on Friday, June 13 for a 5 p.m. PT kickoff at Shell Energy Stadium.