Johnson leads Wild to 4-1 NSL win over Tides

Calgary Wild FC won their first gave ever Saturday, defeating the Halifax Tides 4-1 (Facebook/HalifaxTides)

Kahli Johnson scored twice and the Calgary Wild won their first road match of the new Northern Super League with a 4-1 decision against the Halifax Tides on Saturday at Wanderers Grounds.

Meikayla Moore opened the scoring three minutes into the match, and teammate Meggie Dougherty Howard scored four minutes later to give the Wild a 2-0 lead.

Johnson scored her first goal 26 minutes into the half and the Wild — who lost their season opener 1-0 on April 16 to the host Vancouver Rise — enjoyed a 3-0 lead at halftime.

Marika Guay got the home side on the scoreboard at the 61-minute mark, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Johnson netted her second goal 21 minutes later.

The Wild controlled the ball 61 per cent of the game and outshot the hosts 13-9 (6-3 on target). The visitors had more corners (7-5) and more touches (524-395). The Tides had two yellow cards.

“I thought from start to finish, we dominated,” said Wild head coach Lydia Bedford. “For us it’s about being front-footed, from an out-of-possession perspective we wanted to show our intensity and from an in-possession perspective we wanted to show the calmness that we’ve been there and done it in the NSL and we know how to control the game.”

Moore’s name will go into the history books as the first-ever goal scorer for the Wild. The three-time Olympian kicked things off by jumping into the box, and successfully converting a header behind Halifax goalkeeper Erin McLeod.

“I’m absolutely chuffed to get on the board, especially our first goal for the club, it’s really special,” said Moore. “Scoring goals is not my mainstay as a defender, but whenever we get an attacking free kick, especially in that area, it’s certainly my job to try to put my head on it and today I was able to.”

Up next

Wild: Host AFC Toronto on Thursday, May 1.

Tides: Host Vancouver Rise on Monday, May 5.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2025.