**SAN DIEGO, Calif.** – A late equalizer from San Diego midfielder Taylor Kornieck helped the hosts to rescue a point in a thriller 2-2 draw at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday night. The result stops both teams’ respective slides and leaves San Diego in 6 ^th place with 21 points from 15 games, while the Spirit are just above them in 4 ^th place with 24 points from 15 games played.
The visiting Spirit were off to a quicker start, with forward Ashley Hatch getting in behind the defense after just nine minutes. Hatch had been played through in the left side of the penalty area, but as she went to lift a shot with her left foot, she did not make solid enough contact to push it past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Instead, in the 20 ^th minute, a nervy moment for San Diego goalkeeper Shae Yañez saw the forward Hatch charge her down in possession inside San Diego’s box, with Yañez clipping Hatch as she went to take a touch. Initially whistled as a free kick for the Wave, VAR review instead confirmed that it would be a penalty to Washington, yet Yañez was not booked let alone sent off as was in question following the challenge.
Stepping up to take the penalty was the forward Hatch, and she crushed a right-footed shot into the top corner, with Yañez guessing the side correctly but standing no chance with Hatch in front of her. The goal was Hatch’s eighth of the season, putting her level with North Carolina forward Kerolin for second in the league behind Portland’s Sophia Smith (10 goals).
At the half, Washington clung to a slender 1-0 lead.
Immediately into the second half, though, the Wave found an equalizing goal as defender Cheyenne Shorts bundled the ball over the line after a corner kick was won just a few seconds after the restart. After the ball bounced around the box with neither a solid clearance or effort toward goal, Shorts was there a yard out from goal to poke it in past Spirit goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart and the match was square once again.
However, the Spirit answered quickly as a teasing ball across goal toward Hatch was sent into the San Diego net by defender Cheyenne Shorts, who just a few minutes ago had produced the club’s equalizer. Defender Dorian Bailey was ahead on the right side where she was fed through down the flank. Bailey then rolled a ball in for teammate Ashley Hatch, but instead of meeting Hatch, the pass was intercepted but could not be kept out from goal as Shorts slid through and saw the ball cross the line for Washington to once again take the lead.
After some back and forth action the duration of the second half, Kornieck came up in a big way with a looping header just a few seconds out from the end of regulation to send the home crowd into a frenzy. Kelsey Turnbow was in possession out on the right side of the field when she lifted in a cross toward a pair of targets in the center of the penalty area. First to it, though, was Kornieck, and her lofted header sailed over Barnhart and into the goal to help her team salvage a point.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights