Ally Schlegel scored the go-ahead goal in the second half to give the Chicago Red Stars a 2-1 victory over Bay FC on Sunday night in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Penelope Hocking also scored for the Red Stars (4-3-1), who snapped a two-game losing streak at PayPal Park in San Jose, California. Three of Chicago’s wins came on the road.
Bay FC, which joined the league as an expansion team this season, has lost four in a row.
Tess Boade gave Bay (2-6-0) the early lead. Chicago goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher tried to clear the ball, but her shot ricocheted off Boade’s shoulder and into the goal in the eighth minute. It was Boade’s second goal of the season.
The Red Stars equalized through Hocking’s goal in the 30th minute. Hocking beat two defenders with a long-range strike.
Schlegel’s shot on the rebound off a Bay player placed in the corner to put the Red Stars ahead in the 63rd minute.
Kayla Sharples brought down Hocking in the box but Mallory Swanson’s 81st-minute penalty attempt was saved by Bay goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland.
Deyna Castellano’s right-footed effort for Bay early in stoppage time was inches wide as Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr watched from the stands.
PRIDE 1, LOUISVILLE RACE 0
Barbra Banda scored her fourth goal in four games and the Orlando Pride beat Racing Louisville 1-0 for their fifth straight victory.
Banda, who helped Zambia qualify for the Olympics this summer before joining the Pride on April 14, scored in the 17th minute.
The Pride (5-0-3) are one of two NWSL teams that remain undefeated, along with the Kansas City Current. With the victory against Louisville, Orlando rose to the top of the standings.
The Pride were coming off a 4-1 win on Wednesday against the Courage.
“Three points. I’ll take it,” said Pride rookie Ally Lemos, who made her first start. “This team worked really hard, coming off a midweek game. … We’re really proud of how we played and how we persevered.” “
Racing Louisville is 1-1-5.
CURRENT 1, DASH 1
Rookie Amanda West scored in the 71st minute after a long weather delay and the Houston Dash drew 1-1 with league leaders Kansas City Current.
Temwah Chawinga scored in the 24th minute for Current, who remain unbeaten with five wins and two draws to start the season. Kansas City leads the league with 21 total goals. Malawi striker Chawinga has five.
Lightning over Houston forced the game to be suspended at halftime and the delay extended for more than three hours.
Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell made 12 saves, a record for an NWSL regular season match.
The Dash (1-3-3) haven’t won a game since March 30, when they defeated Bay FC 3-2. Since then, there have been two defeats and two draws.
___
