SAN DIEGO WAVE
San Diego Wave FC remained on top of the NWSL standings with a 2-1 win over the reigning champion Washington Spirit with goals from forward Makenzy Doniak, her second in as many games, and midfielder Isabella Briede on Sunday, July 3 at Torero Stadium.
The team was without several key players due to their respective national team responsibilities including forwards Alex Morgan and Sofia Jakobsson, goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, midfielder Taylor Kornieck, and defender Naomi Girma.
The Wave announced late last week that it had signed midfielder Jackie Altschuld, defender Sydney Cummings, and forward Sarah Sodoma as national team replacement players.
San Diego got a strong performance from backup goalkeeper Carly Telford, who replaced Sheridan, stepping up in several key moments including one in the 71st minute where she used her left hand to make a diving save and keep the score 2-0.
Washington scored its goal with a minute left in added time off a header by midfielder Jordan Baggett who had come in as a substitute.
The win gives San Diego 21 points after 11 matches, which is two more than second-place Chicago Red Stars that has played 10 games. San Diego now gets ready to face fellow expansion team and rival Angel City FC on July 9 in LA.
ALBION SAN DIEGO
Albion claimed sole possession of second place in the NISA East Division standings after a hard-fought scoreless tie with LA Force on Saturday evening at Covina District Stadium.
The team, led by head coach Ziggy Korytoski, created some great chances throughout the match with the clearest opportunity coming in the 14th minute from a right-footed shot courtesy of forward Mayele Malango but goalkeeper Brandon Gomez got his fingertips on recovering the rebound after the ball deflected off the post.
San Diego had another opportunity two minutes later with a header from Walter Varela going just wide with LA Force creating its clearest scoring opportunity in the 21st minute when forward Samuel Goñi took a shoot inside the box that was deflected off the line by defender Daniel Vicente.
Albion San Diego now has a long break before its next match on July 23 in the NISA Independent Cup with the opponent and site yet to be determined. An official date for the suspended league match against Valley United FC is still to be announced.
Hector Trujillo has been covering soccer starting with the San Diego State University men’s soccer team in 2003 for The Daily Aztec. A graduate of SDSU where he received his B.A. and M.A. degrees, Trujillo has a lifelong passion for playing and writing about the beautiful game.
