San Diego Wave FC and San Diego Loyal SC will be looking to rebound from home defeats in their previous matches as both clubs travel to take on the 2021 champions of their respective leagues on May 6.
San Diego Wave is in third-place of the NWSL standings with nine points after five matches, same as the Washington Spirit and Gotham FC, but with more goals scored than the Spirit and a better goal differential than Gotham. The team, led by head coach Casey Stoney, will travel to Audi Field to take on Washington, which won the title two seasons ago after defeating the Chicago Red Stars in the final.
The Spirit still have the services of defender and Scripps Ranch High School graduate Samantha Staab and are coming off draws to the Houston Dash and Chicago. The Wave and Washington faced each other twice in 2022 with San Diego coming out with a 2-1 home victory on July 3 and a 4-3 road loss on Sept.10 on a penalty kick conversion in the 100th minute. That victory broke a 17-game winless streak for the Spirit, 16 of those coming in regular season play and one in via Challenge Cup competition, finishing in 11th place overall in the standings while the Wave finished third overall.
The Wave were without the services of midfielders Taylor Kornieck and Emily van Egmond and forward Alex Morgan for their more recent match against Orlando Pride but did have the services of defender Naomi Girma who was recently selected to the NWSL team of the month.
San Diego Loyal will travel to face rival Orange County SC at Championship Stadium on Saturday as the team, led by head coach Nate Miller, looks to get three points after dropping its first game at Torero Stadium this season on April 29 to El Paso Locomotive 2-1. The loss came after an incredible performance versus the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer where a controversial penalty call in the final minute of play allowed the Sounders to come out with the dramatic 5-4 victory in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on April 26.
The Loyal sit in third-place in the western conference standings with 13 points behind the Sacramento Republic and Colorado Switchbacks going undefeated versus Orange County last season with two wins and a draw. It was back in 2021 when when Orange County SC finished off a memorable season that saw the team from Irvine defeat the favorite Tampa Bay Rowdies, which had finished with a league-best 71 points during the regular season, by a score of 3-1 in the final.
San Diego Loyal will return home to Torero Stadium on May 13 to take on the Rio Grande Valley Toros.
Photos courtesy of San Diego Wave FC, David Frerker.
