Sánchez shines in 3-2 comeback against Portland
María Sánchez celebrates one of her three goals in San Diego Wave's 3-2 comeback victory over the Portland Thorns. (Photo credit: San Diego Wave FC)
San Diego Wave FC came from behind, down by two goals in the 60th minute against the Portland Thorns to win 3-2 with a hat trick by forward María Sánchez.
The win marked the team’s second victory in a row and second of the Concacaf W Champions Cup. They are now in prime position in that tournament atop their group with six points and only two matches left in the group stage.
“I think it’s important to have things going our way. Just having the feeling of a win is important, we had gone months without having that,” Sánchez said. “It’s important to feel that and know we’re a good team, and have good quality players and that we can keep winning.”
The team led in most major statistical categories as they held the possession advantage for long stretches of time, and outshot the Thorns 20-8. Still, their counter attacking style left large areas of the field open that allowed the Thorns to score twice before the Wave converted one of their many chances.
“We were awesome tonight, it would have been really, really cruel to lose that game. We deserved to win, and win by a lot, so I’m proud of the turnaround, quick turnaround from Saturday for a team that’s lost a lot of games this year,” interim head coach Landon Donovan said. “To go down two goals and just continue to believe, keep playing and putting them under pressure was awesome.”
Both goals by Portlans came in breakout opportunities, first by USWNT star forward Sophia Smith whose unmatched speed put her in a dangerous position in the Wave’s final third. Smith rifled a shot to the goalkeeper, Kailen Sheridan’s nearside post to make it 1-0 in the 26th minute.
In the 54th minute Reilyn Turner took advantage of open space after a quick throw-in that caught the Wave on the back foot. Turner had a clear look at the goal after she received her pass and shot the ball with ease past Sheridan to make it 2-0.
The Wave still maintained confidence in their game plan and continued controlling the pace before the goals eventually broke through the floodgates.
The first goal came in the 67th minute when Makenzy Doniak, who subbed on in the 59th minute, drew a foul just inside the box that was deemed a penalty by the referees. María Sánchez took the penalty and sent it past the goalkeeper who did manage to guess correctly, but the shot was strong enough to make it 2-1.
Portland attempted to start fast in response, but the Wave kept the pressure on to score in the next two minutes.
French international forward Delphine Cascarino had another great match that gave defenders trouble on the wings of the pitch where she showed off her wonderful footwork before sending well placed crosses throughout the match. The attempts finally worked as she sent a great cross toward the back post that Sánchez headed in to equalize at 2-2.
The pressure did not stop there as the Thorns had no answer for the Wave’s strong attack. The final goal came in the 85th minute after more strong play by Cascarino brought the ball into a dangerous position in the Thorns’ final third. Amirah Ali got a pass and attempted to shoot the ball, but hit the hand of Portland’s Becky Sauerbraun that was immediately called a penalty.
Sánchez stood at the spot again and sent the ball into the exact same spot as last time to cement her hat trick and make it 3-2.
The win is a much needed step in the right direction for the Wave who just broke a 12-match winless streak in the NWSL regular season with a win over the second to last-place Utah Royals last Saturday.
The Wave’s star center back Naomi Girma said after the match the win is helping to build momentum that can propel the team moving forward.
“I think confidence on the ball is a big thing. I think we’re playing a lot more, we're getting the ball in good spots and we’re making teams defend for long stretches of time,” Girma said. “That just helps us build confidence, helps to build momentum in a game and you know you always want to have the ball, so I think when we can be dangerous and create a lot of chances it helps us build it.”
The Concacaf W Champions Cup is a club tournament with teams around the Concacaf region that will qualify its winner for the first ever Women’s Club World Cup in 2026. The Wave qualified for the tournament by winning the NWSL Shield for the best record in the league.
The Wave play their next NWSL regular season match on Saturday, against the Chicago Red Stars in Chicago. Their next Concacaf W Champions Cup will take place on Tuesday, October 1, away from home against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
