**SAN DIEGO, Calif.** – The OL Reign defeated San Diego Wave FC, 2-1, at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday night with Reign forward Bethany Balcer scoring a brace to push the visitors ahead with Wave forward Jaedyn Shaw’s second-half goal only a consolation. The win helps OL Reign into 3 ^rd place, level with North Carolina (2 ^nd ) and Washington (4 ^th ) on points (23) but splitting in between the two on goal differential. Meanwhile, the Wave now sit in 5 ^th place with 20 points from 13 games played.
The Reign were hot off the mark early, scoring the game’s opening goal in the 8 ^th minute through forward Bethany Balcer. The visitors were moving the ball throughout the midfield when Quinn found themselves on the ball and chipped an effort across their body toward Balcer, who was running in toward the penalty spot. Balcer then produced a deft header to nod her shot past goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, and the Reign were up. The goal was Balcer’s fourth of the season.
The Wave were able to produce a couple of looks throughout the rest of the first half, though none as good as Balcer’s to go in front. In the 37 ^th minute, a long ball forward for midfielder Meggie Dougherty Howard sent the playmaker into the penalty area chasing the pass. As she closed down in an attempt to cross, she clashed with defender Alana Cook, who was there to win the ball for the Reign.
Then, in the 38 ^th minute, forward Alex Morgan was on the end of San Diego’s best chance of the half. Midfielder Emily van Egmond slid a pass to her left where Morgan was making a run approaching the edge of the penalty area. Receiving the pass in stride, Morgan then dragged a left-footed shot across goal that rolled narrowly wide of the far post and out of play.
At the break, the Reign held onto their 1-0 lead as they managed to keep out a pair of late San Diego chances to frustrate the hosts.
Into the second half, San Diego carried over its momentum with an immediate response as forward Jaedyn Shaw scored in the 47 ^th minute to equalize for the home side. Morgan was out wide on the ball on the right side of the field and broke toward the endline. Suddenly cutting back, Morgan curled a left-footed cross directly to the center of the penalty area where Shaw was waiting. From there, Shaw guided a soft header to the far post and in as San Diego found its leveler.
As the match wore on, the Wave continued to threaten periodically with forward Alex Morgan again getting in behind and forcing Reign goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce into action. Morgan had snuck in behind the defense to chase a through ball that split the defense when she was beginning to approach the 18-yard box. Out came Tullis-Joyce as Morgan broke the plane, and the goalkeeper smothered the ball as Morgan attempted to round her to end the move in its tracks.
However, the Reign managed to push themselves back in front again through the head of Balcer, this time in the 77 ^th minute. Defender Sofia Huerta was on the ball in the box on the right side when she cut onto her left foot and lifted a cross toward the back post. Waiting unmarked was Balcer, who then guided her header to the far post and in to send the visitors back in front with little time to play.
One golden opportunity late on for San Diego came in the 83 ^rd minute for forward Amirah Ali. Morgan was on the ball just a couple of yards out from the top of the box when she slid a pass through for Ali making a central run in the box. Ali was able to collect the pass, but her left-footed shot was wide of the goal frame as the hosts were pressing harder for a late goal.
Two minutes later, a perfectly weighted pass to the back post opened up a chance for defender Christen Westphal, though she was unable to make solid contact with the ball. Shaw was on the ball on the left flank when she lofted a ball over everyone in the box all the way to the back post where Westphal was waiting, but she could not get a proper shot on goal off and Tullis-Joyce fell on top of the ball to end the chance.
The final straw for San Diego came in the 88 ^th minute when goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan lost the ball and ended up taking down Reign attacker Elyse Bennett. That resulted in a red card and dismissal for Sheridan, leaving her team to finish with 10 players. As a result, into the match was Wave goalkeeper Shae Yañez, and she made an unreal save on Sofia Huerta’s curled free kick around the wall from the set piece position to keep her team within position.
However, through 10 minutes of stoppage time, the Reign held on for a great result and another road win to push further in the right direction.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights