SD Fútbol Weekly: Wave, Loyal, Strikers, and ADG FC win

San Diego Wave wrapped up its three-game road trip with a resounding 3-0 victory over the Houston Dash on Saturday evening at Shell Energy Stadium.

The Wave opened up the scoring in the second minute when Alex Morgan took advantage of a bad touch from the Houston defense and beat goalkeeper Jane Campbell to the ball after she left her line. This goal was the fifth this season for Morgan, who won the 2022 Golden Boot Award, tying her for the league lead with Washington Spirit forward Ashley Hatch.

“Another really important win for us,” said Wave head coach Casey Stoney. “The game was in the balance in the first half and we did the ugly bits really well and got a goal.”

The Wave extended the lead in the 58th minute when midfielder Sofia Jakobsson found teammate Sierra Enge in front of goal where the former Stanford University standout beat Campbell with a well-placed shot for her first NWSL score. San Diego put the game out of reach in the 79th minute when Madison Pogarch scored her first goal since joining the team in July of 2022 in a trade with Portland.

The victory also marked the second-straight clean sheet and 25th overall for goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan along with the return of midfielder Taylor Kornieck who saw her first action since her abdominal injury on April 19.

“It’s amazing to have Taylor (Kornieck) back,” Stoney added. “She’s such an amazing character. She’s full of life, and she brings the best out in people.”

San Diego now returns home to take on the Portland Thorns on Friday, May 26 at Snapdragon Stadium. The two teams are currently tied for second place with 15, the same as the Washington Spirit with all three trailing first-place Gotham FC by one point. The last time that the Thorns and Wave faced off was in the opening match of the NWSL Challenge Cup when San Diego won 1-0.

San Diego Loyal earned a 3-2 victory over Miami FC on Saturday, which places the team, led by head coach Nate Miller, in third place of the western conference standings one point ahead of reigning champion San Antonio FC, the team it will face in the final match of its current three-game road trip on June 3.

Miami took the lead on a 16th-minute own-goal that came off a deflection from just inside the box, which went the opposite way, over the head of the goalkeeper Koke Vegas, who could not keep the ball out despite his best efforts. San Diego tied the game in the 40th minute when midfielder Alejandro Guido gave teammate Evan Conway a perfect pass as he was streaking down the center and then placing the ball in the back of the net.

Miami FC took the lead in the 60th minute when forward Kyle Murphy got by the Loyal defense and shot the ball with his right foot from 16 yards out beating the outstretched arms of Vegas. The visitors got a measure of karma when in the 80th minute a pass from Conway got deflected by defender Paco Craig and ended up past goalkeeper Jake McGuire.

San Diego ended up scoring the winner in the 85th minute when midfielder Blake Bodily took a shot that turned out to be a pass that found the waiting foot of teammate Elliot Collier, both players having come into the match as substitutes, who proceeded to strike the ball past McGuire. Loyal now travel to take on the Oakland Roots on May 27 in a rematch of last season’s playoffs when the Roots eliminated San Diego after a 3-0 victory at Torero Stadium.

San Diego Strikers kicked off the WPSL season with a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over San Diego Parceiro Ladies on Saturday afternoon at Madison High School and extending the team’s undefeated streak to 15 games since joining the league in 2021. The group, led by head coach Ray Taila, fell behind in the first half when Parceiro Ladies forward Kimberly Mederos gave the visitors the lead, which they took into halftime.

The Strikers bounced back in the second half with goals by midfielders Juliana Lopes in the 72nd minute and Cassie Callahan in the 86th minute as both scores come from assists by teammate Leigh Ann Brown. Brown, who is an assistant coach with the University of San Diego women’s soccer team, joined the Strikers for 2023, and previously played in the NWSL for FC Kansas City where she won two titles along with having represented the United States women’s national team.

Arenal de Gomez FC locked up a So Cal South Premier playoff spot after a resounding 7-0 road victory over Atletico Elite FC on Saturday. ADG FC took a 3-0 lead into halftime and continued to push the pace of play thanks to the offensive outburst from forward Irvin Mojica who ended up with four goals in the game along with two goals from teammates Edwin Lara and one from Jorge Leal.

Arenal de Gómez was coming off a 2-0 home victory over San Diego Internacional, which is currently tied with Escondido FC on top of the So Cal South standings with those teams facing off against each other in their next match. ADG FC has one more regular season game remaining with a win guaranteeing the team, led by head coach Eusebio “Chebo” Martinez, who took over the position mid-season, a home playoff game.