Trinity Byars Snatches 2-2 Draw for San Diego Wave After Late Houston Dash Comeback

For one glorious stretch of Wednesday night, Shell Energy Stadium belonged to Kate Faasse. The Houston Dash rookie walked on at halftime, scored her first professional goal, set up Kat Rader for an 89th-minute go-ahead strike and had the building convinced the Dash were about to topple a San Diego Wave FC side that Houston's own recap called league-leading.

Then the fourth official held up a board showing 13 minutes of added time, and the script got rewritten. Trinity Byars buried a rebound in the fifth minute of stoppage, and the Wave escaped Houston with a 2-2 draw that will feel like a heist in one locker room and a mugging in the other.

San Diego Owned Everything but the Scoreboard

For most of the night this looked like a one-way street. San Diego finished with 58.7 percent of the ball, 19 shots to Houston's four and nine corners to two. The Wave completed 477 passes; Houston completed 292.

The opener arrived in the 20th minute. Lia Godfrey found Dudinha on the left side of the box, and the Brazilian forward ripped a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner. San Diego's recap noted it was Dudinha's fourth goal of the season, the most on the team.

The Wave kept leaning on the door. Godfrey forced Jane Campbell into saves from outside the box in the 39th and 44th minutes, and Melanie Barcenas, making her first start of 2026 according to San Diego, let fly three times before the break. Houston's recap credited center back Malia Berkely with a lunging goal-line clearance on one of those Barcenas efforts, which is the kind of play that never makes a highlight package until the final score makes it matter. Houston's best first-half look was a Leah Klenke header that slid wide in stoppage time.

At the break the Dash had two shots, zero on target and a one-goal deficit that felt like three.

The Halftime Sub Who Flipped the Night

Houston sent Faasse on for Danielle Colaprico at the interval, and for a while it changed nothing. Ludmila missed twice early in the second half, San Diego made a triple change in the 58th minute, and the Dash kept defending deep.

Then, in the 70th minute, Allysha Chapman, on the field for all of three minutes, rolled the ball to Faasse outside the box. Faasse took a touch and drove a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner. Houston said it was her first professional goal and Chapman's third career assist. It was also Houston's first shot on target of the night.

Faasse was not done. With the clock reading 89, she slipped a pass to Rader on the left side of the area, and Rader hammered a left-footed finish into the top right corner. Per Houston, it was Rader's third goal of the season and Faasse's first assist. Final line for the rookie: one shot, one goal, one assist in 45 minutes. That is a heck of a way to introduce yourself.

The Dash had to get there on short staffing, too. Paige Nielsen came off injured in the 56th minute, and Campbell, who made two saves, was replaced by Caroline DeLisle in the 83rd. Houston's recap said Campbell came off after a collision with Byars inside the box, after a Byars foul on the keeper that drew a VAR check for a possible red card. Byars got a yellow instead. DeLisle, per the Dash, was making her NWSL debut.

Thirteen Minutes of Chaos

Here is the turning point, and it is a cruel one for Houston. The marathon stoppage period, the product of a string of injury delays, gave San Diego a runway, and the Wave sprinted down it.

Gia Corley, a 58th-minute sub, had a shot blocked in the 92nd minute and then struck a first-time effort from outside the box in the 95th. DeLisle got down to make the save, but the rebound fell to Byars, who finished with her left foot from point-blank range into the top left corner. San Diego said it was Byars' second goal in as many matches.

So the player at the center of the Campbell collision ended up scoring past Campbell's replacement. Sports are not fair, and they are definitely not subtle.

San Diego pushed for a winner the rest of the way. Corley skied a shot from the center of the box in the 100th minute, and Byars put one over the bar in the 103rd. Houston, which had been so close to three points it could taste them, spent those final minutes just trying to keep the ball out of its own net.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: San Diego 19, Houston 4. The Dash put two shots on target and scored with both.
• Saves: Houston's goalkeepers combined for three; DiDi Haracic did not have to make one.
• Possession: 58.7 percent for San Diego, with 477 accurate passes to Houston's 292.
• Cards: San Diego picked up four yellows, Houston one. San Diego said Perle Morroni's booking was her fifth of the season, triggering a one-match suspension.

What It Means

San Diego leaves Texas at 7-1-3 with 22 points, unbeaten in three straight after back-to-back wins over Angel City and Washington. Byars has now scored in back-to-back matches five days apart, and the Wave's depth showed: Corley and Byars, both second-half subs, combined on the equalizer.

For Houston, now 3-2-5 with 11 points, the point stopped real bleeding. The Dash had lost three straight entering the night, to Utah, Denver and Kansas City, and had scored once in their previous four matches. Houston's recap also noted the club takes the regular-season series with San Diego after winning the season opener 1-0 in San Diego.

There were landmarks scattered through the night, too. Houston said Sophie Schmidt made her 150th regular-season appearance, becoming just the third Canadian in league history to get there, joining Christine Sinclair and Kailen Sheridan.

The Dash host Angel City on Saturday. San Diego returns home Sunday against the Orlando Pride without Morroni.

Final Whistle

Houston wrote a near-perfect underdog movie on Wednesday: rookie off the bench, first career goal, last-minute go-ahead, crowd on its feet. San Diego just refused to let the credits roll. Byars delivered the post-credits scene, and now the Dash get to spend the rest of the week wondering how 13 minutes felt like 13 hours.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Match details as reported by the Houston Dash and San Diego Wave FC.