The San Diego Wave’s season of missed opportunities reached a new low on Sunday night, when the club fell 2-0 to the last-place Houston Dash at Snapdragon Stadium.
The Wave lost not only a match but any reasonable hope of making the NWSL playoffs. With two regular-season matches remaining, San Diego is six points behind Bay FC for the eighth and final playoff spot. Teams earn three points for a win and one for a draw; just to claim the final spot, San Diego would have to leapfrog Racing Louisville, the expansion Utah Royals FC and Angel City FC.
Houston’s Bárbara Olivieri scored with a 30th-minute penalty kick to take a 1-0 lead. The Dash were awarded the free kick after a video review showed that Wave star Naomi Girma fouled Houston’s Yuki Nagasato in the box.
The Dash’s lead grew to 2-0 in the 72nd minute, after Ramona Bachmann took an Olivieri pass and drove it home for a goal.
The win was Houston’s first against the Wave in six chances. The Dash had scored just one goal ever against San Diego before Sunday.
Entering Sunday, the last-place Dash had scored 15 goals in 23 matches. Sunday’s win was the club’s first road victory since May 12 in Los Angeles.
San Diego outshot Houston 15-5. The Dash had four shots on goal; the Wave had three.
Notable
Wave midfielder Savannah McCaskill (leg) made her first start since Aug. 1.
• Wave forward Kyra Carusa (thigh injury) played for the first time since June 22.
• San Diego played without Kennedy Wesley (lower leg injury) and midfielders Kimmi Ascancio and Melanie Barcenas (international competition).
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