Alex Morgan had her No. 13 jersey retired and the San Diego Wave lost 3-0 at home to the Houston Dash on Sunday night in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Morgan, who retired last year when she revealed she was pregnant with her second child, is the sixth player to have a jersey retired in the league.
Elsewhere in the NWSL on Sunday, Gotham FC won 3-1 at home against Angel City, the Chicago Stars routed the Orlando Pride 5-2 in Evanston, Illinois, and the Washington Spirit took care of the visiting Seattle Reign 2-0.
Morgan, a two-time women’s World Cup winner with the United States, was the Wave’s first player when the team joined the NWSL in 2022. She retired from soccer in September 2024, with 22 regular-season goals in 48 matches for San Diego.
The Dash spoiled the party atmosphere when Clarissa Larisey scored her first goal for Houston in the 17th minute. Larisey then set up Yazmeen Ryan to make it 2-0 in the 45th.
Despite dominating statistically, the Wave couldn’t find a way through the Dash’s defense and struggled to create significant opportunities. San Diego had 68% possession and out-shot Houston 19-9.
Substitute Messiah Bright made it 3-0 for Houston in the 78th minute. From five yards out, the forward slotted away a cross by Maggie Graham.
The San Diego fans showed their thanks to Morgan with a banner that read “Endless Impact.” After the final whistle, a visibly emotional Morgan delivered a speech as she was celebrated with a ceremony on the pitch.
The Wave (8-5-6) have won just once in their last seven matches but remain third in the standings.
The Dash (6-8-5) are now undefeated in six matches, a team record. The win moves Houston up to ninth, just one place and three points off the playoffs.
Lavelle scores comeback win for Gotham
Rose Lavelle scored her first goal of the season and Gotham FC defeated Angel City FC 3-1.
Kennedy Fuller put the visitors in front 1-0 less than two minutes into the match. The Angel City midfielder stuck the ball on the edge of the box on the half volley.
Gotham coach Juan Carlos Amoros made two impactful substitutions at the break: Midge Purce replaced Josephine Hasbo and Lavelle came on for Sarah Schupansky.
Gabi Portilho scored the equalizer in the 47th minute. The Brazilian tucked away a short pass from Purce. Then, Lavelle made it 2-1 by pouncing on a goalkeeping mistake in the 51st.
Jaelin Howell capped the scoring in the 68th minute.
Gotham (7-6-6) moved up to sixth place in the NWSL standings, and opened up a four-point gap ahead of 10th place Angel City (6-8-5).
Ludmila dominates as Stars snap winless streak
Ludmila scored a goal and assisted another as the Stars beat the Orlando Pride 5-2 with all seven goals were scored in the second half.
The win snapped a 14-game winless streak for the Stars (2-9-8), with the team’s only other win on the season coming in April. It was the first win under interim head coach Anders Jacobson.
The Pride (8-6-4) skidded to fifth place and have failed to win any of their last seven matches.
Sam Staab was the first to break the deadlock in the 50th minute. The defender calmly curled in a direct free kick from 23 yards out on her left foot.
Carson Pickett quickly answered back for the Pride in the 53rd. Less than a minute later, the Stars were back in front thanks to a perfectly weighted pass from Ludmila that found the head of Bea Franklin.
The Chicago attacks kept coming. Julia Grosso made it 4-1 in the 69th. And then finally, after Haley McCutcheon had hustled to make it 4-2, Ludmila scored her 10th goal of the season to seal a memorable win.
The match was Chicago’s first at Martin Stadium on the campus of Northwestern University. The 12,000 capacity stadium, built right alongside Lake Michigan, will serve as the Stars’ home in 2026.
Rodman scores twice in Spirit win
Trinity Rodman scored both goals in the Spirit’s 2-0 victory over the Reign, for her first multi-goal game since May 2024.
The 23-year-old opened the scoring in the 33rd minute. Leicy Santos spun the ball over the Reign’s backline and Rodman lunged to meet it first time and thunder the ball past Claudia Dickey.
The Spirit controlled the match but struggled to find a second goal until head coach Adrian Gonzalez turned to his bench and brought on Croix Bethune in place of Santos.
Bethune and Rodman combined to make it 2-0 in the 81st. Bethune slipped a pass across the box for Rodman to strike the ball into the top of the goal.
The Spirit (10-4-5) are now undefeated in seven matches and sit in second place.
With the defeat, the seventh place Reign (7-6-6) are now winless in five games and have failed to score in their last two.
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