Gia Corley and Melanie Barcenas scored and the San Diego Wave beat the visiting North Carolina Courage 2-1 on Saturday.
In the day’s other National Women’s Soccer League matches, the Utah Royals edged the Houston Dash 1-0 and the Seattle Reign defeated Bay FC 2-0.
Corley scored her first NWSL goal in the 23rd minute and Barcenas added a curling shot for a goal in the 72nd to give the Wave a 2-0 lead at Snapdragon Stadium.
Ashley Sanchez got her 19th goal of the season in the 82nd and North Carolina (12-9-3) avoided the shutout.
Sanchez leads the Golden Boot race with 19 goals this season, setting the record for most goals scored by an American player in a single season. She is one goal away from Temwa Chawinga’s NWSL record.
The Wave (13-8-3) were without Mimi Van Zanten, who was shown a straight red card in last week’s 1-0 loss to the Reign and was unavailable for Saturday’s game as a result.
On Friday the Wave announced that they have signed forward Barbara Bonansea on a loan from Juventus through June 2027. The 35-year-old Italian international has appeared in two Women’s World Cups. She will join the Wave once she receives her visa.
Reign blank Bay in Seattle
Sofia Huerta converted a penalty kick in the 51st minute and the Reign went on to shutout Bay FC at Lumen Field.
Brittany Ratcliffe added a goal in stoppage time for Seattle (11-8-4), which extended its unbeaten streak to four games.
It was the third straight loss for Bay (6-13-4).
Bay was playing without Kennedy Fuller, currently playing for the United States at the under-20 World Cup in Poland. Fuller had a hat trick in a 9-0 victory over New Zealand on Saturday to advance to the knockout round.
The Reign have three players on the U.S. roster for the tournament: Ainsley McCammon, Emeri Adames and Evan O’Steen.
Tanaka scores on the road
Mina Tanaka scored and the Utah Royals (13-3-8) got closer to securing their first ever playoff berth with their victory in Houston.
Tanaka had a sliding goal from out in front of Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell in the 69th minute for the Royals, now in fourth place in the league standings.
The Dash (7-6-11) have lost four straight. ___
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The Associated Press
