TELL OF THE TALE

A remarkable first regular season for San Diego Wave FC saw the club compete with the best and finish third in the league standings as it amassed 36 points from 22 regular season games as it just edged out the Houston Dash and Kansas City Current on goal differential. That differential is thanks in part to an incredibly strong defensive record as the Wave conceded the second fewest goals of any team, just two more than OL Reign.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

15 – the number of regular season goals scored by San Diego forward Alex Morgan to lead not only the Wave’s attack, but the entirety of the league’s scoring options. Morgan also netted five penalties on the year, and her 10 goals from open play all came from inside the box as well. Her 15 goals beat out the 2021 total, but Sam Kerr’s 16+ goal seasons from 2017-2019 still stand as the highest tallies recorded in a Golden Boot race in the league. 7 – the number of teams that San Diego defeated on the year on its way to producing a 10-win regular season. The Wave got the better of Houston, Gotham, Chicago, North Carolina, Washington, Portland, and Angel City, with the only teams to face San Diego more than once and avoid a loss this year being Racing Louisville, Kansas City and Orlando. 100 – the number of clearances on that dot that defender and rookie Naomi Girma produced in 20 games this season. That number led the San Diego defense, and Girma also led her team in blocks as she demonstrated why she deserved to don the captain’s band at one point in the regular season. 32000 – the number of fans in attendance when San Diego hosted Angel City at Snapdragon Stadium, which boasts the largest crowd in NWSL history. The Wave would earn a 1-0 win that night thanks to the individual brilliance of 17-year-old Jaedyn Shaw. 1 – the number of expansion sides to feature in the playoffs in their first year competing, making the Wave the first and only to achieve the feat. In addition, the Wave now also build upon that record since they became the first expansion side ever to win a playoff game following a 2-1 win over Chicago. TELL OF THE TALE A remarkable first regular season for San Diego Wave FC saw the club compete with the best and finish third in the league standings as it amassed 36 points from 22 regular season games as it just edged out the Houston Dash and Kansas City Current on goal differential. That differential is thanks in part to an incredibly strong defensive record as the Wave conceded the second fewest goals of any team, just two more than OL Reign. The expansion side started out among the hottest of any club in play as it opened the season with three consecutive wins. First, there was a narrow 1-0 win in Houston over the Dash in its first ever game. Then, Alex Morgan put on a show as she scored all four goals (two penalties) against Gotham FC at home before the club beat Chicago, 2-1, thanks to defender Kaleigh Riehl’s 89 ^th minute winner against Chicago the next week, also at home. From there, the usual ups and downs of a season began to set in and San Diego lost two of three before drawing three straight to take them to mid-June. From there, back-to-back wins were followed by a five-game span in which the club only won once (D1 L3) as it approached the middle of August. Kicking it into gear to end the month, though, San Diego defeated Houston and Portland in back-to-back weeks to help stir up some momentum. Into the final month of the regular season, the Wave had the potential to land anywhere from first to out of the playoff race depending on how results landed. A 4-3 loss to Washington in the first game of September saw the Spirit score a winner from the penalty spot in the 10 ^th minute of added time that put a blow in San Diego’s Shield chances. However, San Diego would still finish strong as that one-goal win over Angel City in front of the record crowd at Snapdragon was followed up by draws against Orlando (A) and North Carolina (H) to end the regular season. Now, after a narrow 2-1 win over Chicago in extra time, San Diego faces a trip to Portland to play the Thorns in the NWSL semifinals on Sunday, October 23.