San Diego Wave FC goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan’s three saves were enough to get a point in a scoreless draw with the Washington Spirit in front of a raucous crowd in the NWSL’s first-half finale.
The crowd went into a frenzy when Spirit defender Esme Morgan and Wave forward Delphine Cascarino both went for the ball and collided in the 42nd minute. Cascarino tried to play the ball with a header while Morgan went for the kick and nearly ended up kicking Cascarino in the head; however, no contact was made which was the reason for there being no call, Sheridan said after the match.
San Diego captain Sheridan talked with the referee and Washington captain Tara McKeown for two minutes before returning to the goal.
There were chants of “V-A-R” until play restarted followed by many boos as the crowd found out that there wasn’t going to be any foul called. The referees were booed as they walked off the pitch after both halves and when they came back on to begin the second half.
Washington’s clean sheet didn’t come easy as the San Diego offense bombarded the Spirit’s defense with 16 shots (six on target), 36 crosses, 14 corners and 65 percent possession. However, Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury made six saves for her 42nd career NWSL clean sheet.
Sheridan earned her 40th clean sheet with the three-save shutout, joining Kingsbury in the 40 clean sheets club.
The Wave controlled possession for much of the first half but Washington had its chances, too, especially later in the half. Of the Wave’s nine shots in the first half, three of them were on target and saved by Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury. Sheridan had two saves in the first half.
Many of the Wave’s chances came on their 14 corner kicks. They had five in the opening half and nine more in the second half.
The Wave’s best chance to score came in the 62nd minute when midfielder Kimmi Ascanio placed a shot on goal from the middle of the box but Kingsbury threw her left hand up to make the save.
Up next: The NWSL pauses for the FIFA international window with the Wave not playing another match until they face the North Carolina Courage in Cary, N.C. on Saturday, Aug. 2. They'll return home the following week with their rivalry match with Angel City FC on Saturday, Aug. 9.