San Diego rookie Ian Pilcher's late goal earns draw with Whitecaps
Rookie Ian Pilcher scored his first career goal late in the second half as San Diego FC recorded a 1-1 tie with the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night to remain in first place in the Western Conference.
Vancouver's tally came on an own goal off the foot of San Diego FC's Manu Duah.
The Whitecaps had a chance to win it in the ninth and final minute of second-half stoppage time, but San Diego FC goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega made a leg save on Daniel Rios' close-range right-footed shot.
San Diego FC (13-7-4, 43 points) holds a one-point lead over the Whitecaps (12-5-6, 42 points) and two over Minnesota United (11-5-8, 41 points).
Sisniega made three saves, while Vancouver counterpart Yohei Takaoka had five stops.
San Diego FC had a 17-9 advantage in shots and placed six on target to Vancouver's three.
San Diego was shut out at home by Toronto FC on Wednesday and was facing the possibility of being blanked again as the match reached the 79th minute.
Then Luca Bombino mis-hit a shot and the ball went right to Pilcher, who unleashed a left-footed blast that Takaoka had no chance to stop. It landed in the top left corner to knot the score.
Earlier, Vancouver's Edier Ocampo took a blistering right-footed shot in the 37th minute that was stopped by Sisniega.
The Whitecaps kept the pressure on and Ocampo took a right-footed shot that was knocked away by Sisniega. The ball then deflected off the foot of Duah into the net for an own goal in the 40th minute.
The Whitecaps had a big opportunity in the 76th minute when star Brian White got the ball unmarked and worked his way to the left and around Sisniega. He sent a left-footed roller toward the open net and it went through the goal mouth and just wide of the far post.
Just three minutes later, Pilcher scored the tying goal and San Diego seized the momentum.
In the 88th minute, Jeppe Tverskov's glancing header was pushed over the net by Takaoka.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Dallas hosts New York following Ionescu's 30-point outing
New York Liberty (17-7, 10-2 Eastern Conference) at Dallas Wings (7-19, 3-12 Western Conference) Arlington, Texas; Monday, 8 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: New York Liberty visits the Dallas Wings after Sabrina Ionescu scored 30 points in the Liberty's 101-99 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. The Wings are 4-8 in home games. Dallas leads the Western Conference in rebounding, averaging 36.7 boards. Myisha Hines-Allen leads the Wings with 5.3 rebounds. The Liberty are 5-4 on the road. New York leads the Eastern Conference with 21.8 assists. Natasha Cloud paces the Liberty with 5.9. Dallas is shooting 41.5% from the field this season, 0.1 percentage points lower than the 41.6% New York allows to opponents. New York averages 87.9 points per game, 1.3 more than the 86.6 Dallas allows to opponents. The matchup Monday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams. TOP PERFORMERS: Arike Ogunbowale is averaging 16 points and 3.9 assists for the Wings. Paige Bueckers is averaging 15.0 points over the last 10 games. Cloud is averaging 10.4 points and 5.9 assists for the Liberty. Ionescu is averaging 18.9 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Wings: 3-7, averaging 82.3 points, 36.4 rebounds, 20.8 assists, 7.1 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 42.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 89.0 points per game. Liberty: 6-4, averaging 88.1 points, 33.1 rebounds, 22.0 assists, 8.5 steals and 5.2 blocks per game while shooting 45.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 84.2 points. INJURIES: Wings: Maddy Siegrist: out (knee), Tyasha Harris: out for season (knee). Liberty: Nyara Sabally: out (knee). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Griner leads Atlanta against Golden State after 22-point game
Golden State Valkyries (11-13, 6-8 Western Conference) at Atlanta Dream (15-10, 9-6 Eastern Conference) College Park, Georgia; Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Atlanta Dream faces the Golden State Valkyries after Brittney Griner scored 22 points in the Atlanta Dream's 90-86 win against the Minnesota Lynx. The Dream have gone 8-3 in home games. Atlanta leads the Eastern Conference with 28.0 defensive rebounds per game led by Griner averaging 4.9. The Valkyries are 3-9 in road games. Golden State ranks seventh in the Western Conference shooting 30.7% from 3-point range. Atlanta makes 43.4% of its shots from the field this season, which is 2.7 percentage points higher than Golden State has allowed to its opponents (40.7%). Golden State averages 78.8 points per game, 0.2 fewer than the 79.0 Atlanta gives up. The teams square off for the second time this season. The Dream won the last meeting 90-81 on July 7. Allisha Gray scored 24 points to help lead the Dream to the victory. TOP PERFORMERS: Brionna Jones is averaging 12.6 points and 7.4 rebounds for the Dream. Gray is averaging 17.3 points over the last 10 games. Veronica Burton is averaging 10.7 points and 5.2 assists for the Valkyries. Tiffany Hayes is averaging 13.0 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Dream: 5-5, averaging 84.3 points, 36.7 rebounds, 21.7 assists, 7.3 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 45.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 81.7 points per game. Valkyries: 4-6, averaging 78.6 points, 35.4 rebounds, 18.7 assists, 5.3 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 40.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.8 points. INJURIES: Dream: Rhyne Howard: out (knee). Valkyries: Kayla Thornton: out for season (knee). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Los Angeles plays Las Vegas, seeks 6th straight victory
Las Vegas Aces (13-13, 7-7 Western Conference) at Los Angeles Sparks (11-14, 3-10 Western Conference) Los Angeles; Tuesday, 10 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles Sparks heads into a matchup against Las Vegas Aces as winners of five games in a row. The Sparks have gone 3-10 against Western Conference opponents. Los Angeles gives up 87.3 points and has been outscored by 2.3 points per game. The Aces are 7-7 in Western Conference play. Las Vegas is 10th in the WNBA averaging 8.1 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 32.5% from downtown. Jewell Loyd leads the team averaging 1.9 makes while shooting 36.0% from 3-point range. Los Angeles scores 85.0 points per game, 2.4 more points than the 82.6 Las Vegas allows. Las Vegas' 41.8% shooting percentage from the field this season is 3.3 percentage points lower than Los Angeles has given up to its opponents (45.1%). The teams meet for the third time this season. The Sparks won 97-89 in the last matchup on June 12. Rickea Jackson led the Sparks with 30 points, and Jackie Young led the Aces with 34 points. TOP PERFORMERS: Dearica Hamby is averaging 17.6 points, eight rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals for the Sparks. Kelsey Plum is averaging 19.7 points over the last 10 games. A'ja Wilson is scoring 21.6 points per game and averaging 9.1 rebounds for the Aces. Young is averaging 1.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Sparks: 7-3, averaging 90.6 points, 33.3 rebounds, 22.8 assists, 6.7 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 87.3 points per game. Aces: 5-5, averaging 82.1 points, 33.2 rebounds, 17.9 assists, 6.8 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 43.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 83.5 points. INJURIES: Sparks: None listed. Aces: Cheyenne Parker-Tyus: out (personal). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
