San Diego Wave Fútbol Club squares off against rival Angel City FC in the team’s inaugural match at Snapdragon Stadium looking to regain the top seed in the NWSL standings after Kansas City lost to Chicago on Friday 4-0. San Diego is coming off a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the reigning league champion Washington Spirit at Audi Field on a last-minute penalty kick conversion.
Angel City FC also suffered a close loss 1-0 in its most recent match to the North Carolina Courage on Wednesday and currently sits two points behind OL Reign for the final playoff spot. The last time the Wave and Angel City met was on July 9 with the team from Los Angeles coming out on top at home 2-1 thanks to a goal by forward Claire Emslie in the 81st minute. Game time for the match is 7 p.m.
Loyal
San Diego Loyal will try to shake off a three-game losing streak when it faces western conference rival Phoenix Rising FC at Torero Stadium. SD Loyal currently sits in second place of the conference standings but has seen its lead over Colorado dwindle to only one point while San Antonio FC has extended its advantage over the Loyal to 11 points.
With only a handful of games remaining, it looks like San Antonio will be the team finishing with the top seed and the important first-round bye in the playoffs, which makes the game between San Diego and Phoenix even more important if the team, led by head coach Landon Donovan, is to finish in second place. Phoenix Rising is not having its best season and is currently in next to last place in the conference standings but is still only five points behind Las Vegas Lights for the final playoff spot.
The last time San Diego Loyal and Phoenix Rising met was on March 26 in Arizona with the Loyal coming out on top 3-2 thanks to a 76th-minute goal by Alejandro Guido. Game time for the match is 7 p.m.
Albion
Albion San Diego will be taking on California United Strikers at Championship Stadium as the team, led by head coach Ziggy Korytoski, looks to continue its impressive play from the previous match when it defeated the Michigan Stars 3-0 at Canyon Crest Academy. Albion San Diego is currently in third place in the NISA standings while Cal United Strikers is on top of the table having lost only one of its 15 games so far this season. The last time the two teams met was on Aug. 20 in Irvine with the score ending in a 1-1 draw thanks to a 44th-minute goal by forward Alioune Diakhate.
Diakhate is currently second in the league in goal scoring with 10 only behind Chattanooga FC forward Markus Naglestad with 16. Besides Diakhate, Albion San Diego has gotten impressive performances this season, particularly from forwards Mayele Malango and Walter Varela with goalkeeper Ben Roach coming up with timely saves in every game he has started. Game time for the match is 7 p.m.
ADG
ADG FC will be playing its first home game of the UPSL season at San Diego Mesa College and hope to continue the level of play the team showed in its season-opening 3-1 win over Rebels SC on Sunday in Chula Vista. The victory came thanks to two goals from forward Lorenzo “Tito” Ramirez and one from midfielder Edwin Lara.
This season’s team will be made up of familiar faces for any local soccer aficionado including some who have played for the San Diego Sockers and 1904 FC, which include Ramirez and former teammate Brandon Zambrano. 1904 FC competed in NISA from 2019 to 2021 until its merger at the end of last year when it joined with ASC SD of the National Premier Soccer League to form Albion San Diego. The UPSL competes in both the spring and fall seasons with ADG FC having a total of 10 regular season matches this fall divided equally between home and away games. Game time for the match is 5 p.m.
Photo courtesy of San Diego Wave Fútbol Club
