SAN DIEGO - Angel City flipped the script on their SoCal rival, stunning the San Diego Wave on their home turf with a 2-0 win and breaking the all-time regular-season tie (3-3-3) before 15,881at Snapdragon Stadium. With an early lead from Angel City and a missed penalty kick opportunity in the 85th minute, Angel City shut down San Diego’s hopes of securing a historic season sweep.
Angel City began the game with high pressure from their forwards as they sought to prevent a repeat of the May 9 matchup when the Wave won 2-1.
Perle Morroni handles the ball. Miguel Mejia/Miguel Mejia Photography
The Wave felt the absence of Dudinha, the team’s leader in goals scored. She is out for the season due to an ACL injury suffered during International play. Goalkeeper Luisa Agudelo, only 19 years old, made her second appearance this season. Agudelo made her debut last week against Gotham FC, allowing no goals in a 2-0 win.
Wave midfielder Gia Corley fights for the ball. Miguel Mejia/Miguel Mejia Photography
Agudelo couldn’t replicate the shutout. Maiara Niehues scored on a header in the 17th minute. Although the Wave were eager to find the equalizer, less than ten minutes later, the opposite occurred. Angel City’s Ary Borges drove in a rocketed shot to make the score 2-0 in the 27th minute.
To begin the second half, rookie Lia Godfrey subbed in for Melanie Barcenas and Trinity Byars for Ludmila, strategic moves by head coach Jonas Eidevall to create more of a scoring threat withfresh legs.
Although the Wave turned the tide offensively in the second half, they could not find the net. San Diego earned their first of 10 corner kicks in the 46th minute. In previous second halves for the Wave, they have allowed only four goals and have contributed 14. Mimi Van Zanten had a terrific look in the 64th minute, one of 12 the team took in the second half, outshooting Angel City 18-12 over the entire game. The Wave also held 71% possession after halftime.
Angel City keeper Angelina Anderson made five second-half saves to preserve a clean sheet. Miguel Mejia/Miguel Mejia Photography
Angel City’s goalkeeper, Angelina Anderson, experienced more action than anyone in the last twenty minutes of the game. San Diego consistently attempted to score and Anderson’s performance made this no easy task.
In the 85th minute, 18-year-old Kimmi Ascanio drew a penalty kick for San Diego, and Godfrey took the kick. The shot went off the post and bounced back into play, making the Wave 0 for 2 in penalty kicks this season.
"As in life, it's all about how you react to this here, now," said Eidevall. "How you react in the training week. How are you going to react against Kansas City. And that's what's going to show how good of a team we are, when we see the reaction from this performance."
Next Up
Fri July 17 @ 5 p.m. | Wave FC @ Kansas City Current | CPKC Stadium Kansas City, Mo.
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Wave FC fans continued to believe throughout the game. Miguel Mejia/Miguel Mejia Photography
The Reality of the Post-Dudinha Era
Coming off a 2-0 win over Gotham FC, the Wave’s attack had to adjust again without their star Brazilian forward (5 goals, 4 assists) due to her season-ending ACL injury.
How it looked on Saturday: In the first half, the Wave appeared unprepared for the offensive energy that Angel City produced in the early moments of the game. Without Dudinha, players are having to shift roles and cover different areas, which has led to them losing some defensive stability. Without their playmaker, the Wave’s offensive movements need to be constructed to cater to the remaining players who have shown success up top.
Angel City’s New Look
Angel City entered Snapdragon Stadium with a fresh start, having parted ways with head coach Alex Straus and integrated 2024 U.S. Young Female Player of the Year Ally Sentnor during the International break.
How it looked on Saturday: Angel City’s offense came out on fire. The high press didn’t stop at the offense. Angel City’s defense contained a solid unit, particularly with its center backs, which made it much more difficult for San Diego to boot the ball around them.
Southern California Dominance Secured
With their head-to-head record sitting dead even at 3-3-3 before kickoff, tonight's outcome with Angel City on top shifted the balance of power in the SoCal rivalry.
Standings update: The Wave remain in first place with 28 points, but they are the only team to have played 15 games (others have played either 13 or 14). With the unequal number of games, a better metric may be points per game (ppg). The Washington Spirit lead that metric with 2.08 ppg and the Thorns are No. 2 with 1.93. The Thorns have a chance to move into first if they win today against the Reign. The Wave and Gotham are third and fourth, respectively, with 1.87 and 1.85 ppg. Angel City remains in ninth place in both the NWSL standing and ppg (1.46).
In the first half, Kennedy Wesley looks for the NWSL’s first bicycle kick goal. Miguel Mejia/Miguel Mejia Photography
Website Photo: Mimi Van Zanten. Miguel Mejia/Miguel Mejia Photography
