Wild FC stun league-leading Rapid FC in thriller

Calgary Wild FC continued its late summer surge Saturday afternoon by knocking off the top-ranked Ottawa Rapid FC 4-3, to extend their winning streak to three games.

In front of a passionate home crowd celebrating the Club’s Pride Match, the Wild handed Ottawa its first loss in 10 matches while defeating the Rapid at McMahon Stadium for the first time.

”I feel a bit older after that game,” laughed Calgary Wild FC assistant coach Kory Babington. “The ladies are improving all of the time. We had a couple of lapses in concentration and had to fight to the end which is great for the character they are showing. They are buying into everything we are doing so it is pleasing. Ottawa is a quality team with great players and are coached well. This result shows that when we play how we know we can, every game will be competitive.”

Kahli Johnson opened the scoring in the 17th minute, with the 22-year-old offensive stalwart continuing her influential run.

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Johnson was also at the centre of Calgary’s second goal 10 minutes later, sending a perfectly weighted pass across the box to Serita Thurton, who chipped the ball over Ottawa goalkeeper Mollie Eriksson to make it 2-0.

Madison Pogarch came up with a huge defensive play to pull a shot off the goal line and keep the ball out of the net, but Ottawa snagged the loose ball that ended up on the foot of Jung Min-Yung who fired it into the roof of the Calgary net at the 37th minute.

The hard-nosed Club from the Nation’s capital eventually found its equalizer in the 45th minute, with Mel Forbes converting from 10 yards out.

In stoppage time, Taegan Stewart delivered a tactical corner into the box where Thurton rose above the Ottawa defense to head the ball home for her second goal of the afternoon, restoring Calgary’s lead heading into halftime.

“Ottawa is such a strong team. It is always great to have a win, especially at home. These fans deserved it,” said Thurton. “The ball T (Taegan) played in was amazing, I found the open space and just wanted to get my head on it, but all credit goes to Taegan. The rough start we had to the season is why we can really appreciate these wins and appreciate the work we are putting in. We are getting better each week and that is something we should be proud of.”

The Wild received another boost in the 55th minute when Ottawa’s leading scorer, Delaney Pridham, was shown a red card, leaving the Rapid with 10 players for the final 35 minutes.

Calgary continued to press and eventually found its fourth goal in the 76th minute.

Midfielder Josie Aulicino, one of five new faces to join the Wild lineup this month, made an immediate impact after entering for the second half. Aulicino moved the ball forward to Jorian Baucom, who calmly finished the opportunity to put Calgary ahead 4-2.