Reign snap 5-game losing streak with 2-1 victory over the Wave

By The Associated Press

Veronica Latsko scored on a header in the 89th minute and the Seattle Reign snapped a five-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the San Diego Wave in the National Women’s Soccer League on Friday night.

The match at Seattle’s Lumen Field started poorly for the Reign (1-5-1) when Tziarra King was handed a red card in the ninth minute and Seattle was down a player the rest of the match.

The Wave (2-2-2) took advantage and Kyra Carusa scored after the restart to take a 1-0 lead.

Bethany Balcer maneuvered past Wave goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan and scored into an empty net to level it for the Reign, who won their first match of the season but dropped the next five.

Sheridan stopped So-Yun Ji’s dangerous free kick in the 77th minute. But Ji served another free kick to Latsko who scored on a reverse header that tucked just into the far corner.

“I’m still trying to process it,” Latsko said with a smile afterward.

There were an NWSL record 10 cards issued during the match. A second red card was issued to Kristen McNabb in stoppage time.

The Wave remained without Alex Morgan, who missed a second game with an ankle injury. Teammate Naomi Girma was also absent because of a thigh injury.

Angel City 2, Royals 1

Sydney Leroux and Clair Emslie both scored in the first half and Angel City held on for a 2-1 victory on the road against the Utah Royals.

It was the third win in four games for Angel City (3-3-1).

Leroux scored on a header in the 29th minute and Emslie doubled the lead with a penalty kick in the 41st. Emslie leads the team with five goals this season.

Alyssa Thompson’s assist on Leroux’s goal was the 19-year-old’s third straight game with an assist, making her the youngest NWSL player with three in three games.

Dana Foederer scored her first NWSL goal in the 51st minute to pull Utah within 2-1 as the Royals (1-5-1) pressed for a home win before heading out on the road for the next three matches.

Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haracic stopped Amandine Henry’s free kick through the wall in the 73rd minute then stopped a rebound attempt from Madison Pogarch to preserve the victory.

“It was gritty, we ground it out. I think we need to be better to be honest, 2-nil up, need to be better in the second half,” Emslie said.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer