September 18, 2022 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – San Diego Wave FC News Release
San Diego, CA – San Diego Wave Fútbol Club overturned their Los Angeles rivals, Angel City FC, 1-0 tonight in front of a sold-out crowd of 32,000 at their historic opening of the new Snapdragon Stadium. Tonight marked the largest crowd to ever attend an NWSL match in the league’s 10 years of existence.
“It feels incredible to win for our fans, and as someone who has been involved in this game for 30 years, I’ve waited for this moment. To be able to do this without another crest, like in England how we rely on Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool to gain big crowds, but this is San Diego Wave, eight months into existence and to pull a crowd like this, it just shows what San Diego is as a community, and we want to keep them coming back because the potential for this team and community to keep growing is huge. This was such a momentous occasion for women’s soccer and I’m just so pleased to be a part of it.”
Casey Stoney, San Diego Wave FC Head Coach
17-year-old rookie Jaedyn Shaw added to the historic night, scoring tonight’s game-winning goal, the team’s first goal at Snapdragon and her third goal in just three appearances. In her first home match for the club, Shaw opened the scoring in the 30th minute with an incredible header off a ball from Sofia Jakobsson. The talented youngster became the second player in NWSL history to score in each of their first three league appearances.
Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan also stood out tonight with four saves overall, including a show-stopping block in the 34th minute, denying Angel City’s June Endo’s left-footed strike from just outside the box. The Canadian national team star went on to save her third penalty of the 2022 season in the 74th minute. ACFC’s Savannah McCaskill attempted from the spot but was unsuccessful as Sheridan dove to the left to block the shot before then saving the rebound.
“She’s the world’s best for me (Sheridan). I’ve played with so many goalkeepers over the years, and they could either keep the ball out of the back of the net or they were incredible with their feet but very rarely do you get both with a female goalkeeper, and she is absolutely one of those. She stepped up tonight and she’ll say that’s what she’s there for, but she revels in those big moments.”
Casey Stoney, San Diego Wave FC Head Coach
San Diego Wave FC finished the night with a final score of 1-0 and five shots on goal. The win…