COMMERCE CITY– A second win still eludes a developing Denver Summit FC team. 

In its second home match of the season, Denver struggled to slow down the San Diego Wave in the second half, falling to the NWSL leaders 3-2 in front of a sellout crowd at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The Summit scored two goals in the first 32 minutes to lead 2-0 at halftime, but did not score any more despite four shot attempts and one shot on goal in the second half. 

San Diego (5-0-1) extends its win streak to five, its longest in club history, while Denver (1-3-2) seeks its first win since March 25 over Gotham FC. 

“They didn’t do anything different tactically (in the second half),” head coach Nick Cushing said. “We knew they would come for us … but we also want to be a team that plays for 95 minutes. It’s a good lesson for us, a painful one, but a good lesson. We showed our potential to be a great team in the first half.” 

Forward Melissa Kossler scored the first goal for the Summit in the 16th minute off an assist from Yazmeen Ryan. It was Kossler’s fourth goal of the season for the Summit and first since Denver’s 2-0 win over Gotham FC, and Ryan’s first assist of the season. 

With the momentum on Denver’s side, midfielder Tash Flint scored the Summit’s second goal in the 32nd minute with a header to the center of the goal. Flint signed a two-year contract with the Summit on April 17 after previously being on loan from the Tampa Bay Sun. 

Wave midfielder Lia Godfrey put San Diego on the board in the 49th minute of the second half, and defender Kennedy Wesley found the back of the net with a header in the 57th to tie the game 2-2. 

As the Summit began to struggle to keep possession, the ball bounced off Denver defender Carson Pickett to give the Wave its winning goal. While Denver held the advantage in the first half, the Wave won the possession battle with 56.1% of possession time.

The second half also saw three yellow cards for Denver: Ayo Oke and Kaleigh Kurtz in the 55th and 59th minutes, respectively, and Eva Gaetino in the 92nd.

Summit goalie Abby Smith finished with two saves and entered the game leading the league in saves with 23. Each team had four shots on goal, while Denver had nine shot attempts and San Diego recorded seven. 

Denver returns to action May 3 at Gillette Stadium against Boston Legacy FC at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. 

“Today we just lost control,” Cushing said. “We’ll remember these moments as important moments when we get to where we want to go.”