Chawinga scores to lift first-place Current to 3-1 win over Stars
Temwa Chawinga scored her sixth goal of the season to lead the first-place Kansas City Current to a 3-1 road win over the Chicago Stars on Saturday night in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Elsewhere in the NWSL, the Houston Dash and Bay FC tied 2-2 and Racing Louisville came away 3-2 winners over Angel City.
Kansas City (8-2-0) has now won three consecutive games and remains five points clear of the second-place Orlando Pride.
The Current went in 2-0 up at halftime at SeatGeek Stadium on Bia Zaneratto’s goal in the 34th minute and Chawinga’s goal in the 41st, assisted by Zaneratto.
Stars midfielder Shea Groom headed in Sam Stabb’s free kick to make it 2-1 six minutes into the second half. But Kayla Sharples put the game beyond doubt by scoring a header to make it 3-1 in the 60th.
Chicago (1-8-1) goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher had to be subbed out in the 90th minute due to an injury.
Bright scores first goal for Dash in 2-2 tie against Bay
Messiah Bright came off the bench to score a late equalizer for the Houston Dash in a 2-2 tie against Bay FC at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston. The goal was Bright’s first since signing with the Dash during the offseason.
Bright replaced Michelle Alozie in the 59th minute and initially struggled to make an impact. But with the score at 2-1, Bright drove into the box, cut onto her left foot and curled a low shot into the net in the 88th minute.
Houston (3-5-2) had taken a 1-0 lead on Avery Patterson’s strike from outside the box in the 33rd minute.
Bay (3-4-3) scored two goals in four minutes in the second half for a 2-1 lead.
Penelope Hocking scored in her third consecutive game when she spun away from pressure and fired the ball into the corner of the goal to make it 1-1 in the 53rd minute.
Rachel Hill made it 2-1 in the 56th when she tapped the ball into an open net after Racheal Kundananji had stolen the ball from Paige Nielsen.
10-player Racing holds on for 3-2 win over Angel City
Racing Louisville held on for a 3-2 win over Angel City despite Kayla Fischer being shown a red card midway through the second half.
Lousiville (4-4-2) has now won three of its last four games while Angel City (4-4-2) has lost two in a row.
Taylor Flint put Louisville up 1-0 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles with a penalty kick in the 23rd minute. Rookie Riley Tiernan equalized for Angel City in the 48th minute.
Emma Sears nodded the ball in from close range off of a corner kick in the 53rd minute and Savannah DeMelo made it 3-1 Racing Lousiville in the 56th.
Fischer was sent off for a physical altercation with Madison Hammond inside the Louisville box in the 67th minute. Alyssa Thompson stepped up and converted the penalty kick for Angel City to make it 3-2.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
By THEO LLOYD-HUGHES
Associated Press
