What was billed beforehand as a matchup between two of the hottest teams in the NWSL turned into a one-sided rout on Sunday, as the San Diego Wave defeated the visiting North Carolina Courage by the score of 5-2 at Snapdragon Stadium.
The Wave scored two goals in the first half, then added three more in the second, including during stoppage time.
However, it was actually North Carolina that scored first, if not often. Courage defender Felicitas Rauch connected with a header during the 12th minute to put North Carolina in the driver’s seat. But the lead wouldn’t last.
During the 25th minute, Wave left-back Perle Morroni connected with a right footed shot into the goal to level the score. Then, during the 40th minute, Wave winger Adriana Leon hit a right footed kick into the bottom left portion of the net to give San Diego a 2-1 lead at the half.
The Courage came back firing early after the break. During the 51st minute, attacking Japanese midfielder Manaka Matsukubo scored with a right footed shot and tied the score at two goals apiece.
The rest of the second half, however, was all San Diego.
First, Wave defender Kristen McNabb scored with a right footed shot during the 54th minute to give San Diego the lead. Next, winger Adriana Leon scored with a right footed kick during the game’s 60th minute.
“I got my opportunity and took the shot,” Leon, a native of Canada said during the post-match press conference.
During the scoring play, a Wave player collided with Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy and Murphy was knocked to the ground, where she stayed for nearly seven minutes. After being evaluated for a concussion, she was cleared by medical personnel and allowed back into the match.
Due to the injury stoppage, a total of nine minutes were added on to the end of the initial 90 minutes. And during the 95th minute, San Diego scored one last time. On this occasion, forward Maria Sanchez hit a left footed shot on goal to put the cherry on top of the victory.
“Our team is so exciting,” Leon commented regarding the late goal. “We didn’t take our foot off the gas.”
The Courage and Wave came into the match as two of the NWSL’s hottest teams. The Wave entered on a five match unbeaten streak (4-0-1), having secured 1-0 road win over Gotham FC nine days earlier. North Carolina came into the showdown on a four-match unbeaten run (3-0-1).
Following Sunday’s match, San Diego sits at 6-2-2 and 20 points in the standings table, good for second place overall in the NWSL, behind powerhouse Kansas City Current (8-2-0, 24 points). With its latest loss, the Courage now has a record 3-4-3, with 12 points and sits at 10th place in the 14-team league.
The two teams rematch on Aug. 2, with North Carolina as the home squad.
This coming weekend is an international break for the NWSL, so the Wave’s next match isn’t until June 6 against the Seattle Reign at Snapdragon Stadium. The game’s scheduled to be streamed live on Amazon Prime Video.
After that, San Diego takes on the Houston Dash in Texas on June 13 before returning home for a June 22 match against the Washington Spirit.
Team notes
Sunday’s match was midfielder Jaedyn Shaw’s first match back in San Diego since being traded to the Courage this offseason. She signed with the Wave as a 17-year-old in July 2022, playing two and a half seasons in San Diego before moving over to the Courage.
Also, the Wave announced May 23 that nine of its players have been called up to represent their national teams during FIFA’s May/June international window. Defender Hanna Lundkvist (Sweden) and forwards Kyra Carusa (Republic of Ireland) and Delphine Cascarino (France) will compete in the final matches of the UEFA Nations League group stage.
Midfielder Gia Corley and defender Kennedy Wesley will face off in two U-23 friendlies between Germany and the United States. Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan and forward Adriana Leon will represent Canada in two friendlies against Haiti. Forward María Sánchez will join the Mexican Women’s National Team for two upcoming friendlies against Uruguay.
San Diego’s newest signing, Daniela Arias, who joined the Wave in late March, will represent Colombia in a pair of friendlies against South Korea.
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