SAN DIEGO WAVE
San Diego Wave bounced back from its first loss of the season to defeat the North Carolina Courage 1-0 on the road Sunday, May 22, thanks to forward Alex Morgan’s 41st-minute goal off a perfect pass down the middle of the field from midfielder Taylor Kornieck.
Not only is this her league-leading sixth goal this season, but it places Morgan sixth all-time in NWSL goals with 44 goals. San Diego got another outstanding performance from goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan who notched her third clean sheet of the regular season giving up only two goals total in the five matches she has played.
San Diego now travels to face a familiar foe in OL Reign on Sunday, May 29 at Lumen Field in Seattle. This time will be the third time San Diego and OL Reign play each other counting the two match-ups they had during the recent Challenge Cup. San Diego hopes that the third time will be the charm to get the win having lost the first game on April 14 and tied the second on April 23.
ALBION SAN DIEGO
Albion San Diego came out with a hard-fought 1-1 draw on the road against Western Division rival Valley United FC on Saturday, May 21 at Bell Bank Park in Mesa, Ariz. The team led by head coach Ziggy Korytoski fell behind only three minutes into the match courtesy of defender Stephen Elias with Albion tying the game in the 44th minute thanks to a beautiful goal by midfielder Khadim Seye.
Albion San Diego now has 13 points after six matches placing them in third place of the division behind second-place Bay Cities FC who has 14 points after eight matches and first place Cal United Strikers FC with 19 points after seven games. Every team in the division got the benefit of Valley United FC having to forfeit all of its previous six matches to start the season due to ineligible players being allowed to compete.
Albion will not play another game until Sunday, June 5 when it faces Bay Cities FC at Canyon Crest Academy Stadium.
SAN DIEGO LOYAL
San Diego Loyal suffered a tough 2-1 loss on the road Saturday, May 21 against Rio Grande Valley Toros. The Toros had the first real scoring chance in the 5th minute off a penalty kick that San Diego Loyal goalkeeper Koke Vegas was able to block thanks to a spectacular dive to his left.
San Diego had a penalty conversion opportunity of its own in the 37th minute that forward Kyle Vassell easily put in the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. San Diego Loyal had a great opportunity to extend the advantage in the 64th minute on a breakaway opportunity by forward Alejandro Guido, but RGV goalkeeper Tyler Deric came out and made the save.
The Toros tied the game in the 76th minute off a spectacular shot from 20 yards out by midfielder Emilio Ycaza and would take the lead in a controversial fashion in the 80th minute after a deflected ball from Ycaza was deemed by the referee to have crossed the line. None of the replays shown had convincing evidence to conclusively clarify if the ball had crossed adding to the frustration that USL Championship is a league that does not use VAR.
San Diego Loyal now gets ready to face LA Galaxy II at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday, May 28.
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.
Photos courtesy: San Diego Wave Fútbol Club, Albion San Diego, and San Diego Loyal.
