Wave earn victory in 3-2 win over Utah Royals in home opener
San Diego Wave players celebrate the team’s second goal in their 3-2 victory over the Utah Royals. (Photo credit San Diego Wave FC)
San Diego Wave won their first home match of the 2025 season in a 3-2 victory over the Utah Royals.
The Wave played with a strong high press that proved difficult forcing many turnovers and errors by Utah all around the pitch and managed to score in the first ten minutes.
It started with a strong buildup in the seventh minute and started with midfielder Kenza Dali making multiple tough moves to keep the ball before sending a long through ball down the right side of the pitch. Midfielder Gia Corley saved the ball just before it went out of play, collected herself and sent a perfect low cross to a running María Sánchez who just managed to get a foot on it right in front of the goal to make it 1-0.
The second goal came in 37th minute after a through ball by Corley in the midfield to Delphine Cascarino who ran the ball down the pitch and into the box just in front of the goalkeeper's post before sending in a cross right in front of goal to Adriana Leon who tapped it in easily to make it 2-0.
San Diego Wave Head Coach Jonas Eidevall called it a “well-deserved two-nil lead,” before a much different second half.
“The first half is all in all a performance that I’m very pleased with. I think we have good patience and control in our buildup and we were playing the ball forward at the right moment,” Eidevall said.
The Wave entered the second half dominant in all facets of the game, out-possessing 65% to 35%, and outshot seven to one.
“Now, the second half it’s a little bit different story,” Eidevall said. “They don’t change so much tactically, but they change the intensity that they do things with, which was something that we expected. We were not very good in the second half with handling that. “We were a little bit too slow in order to take our positions. Our technical execution was a little bit sloppy as well and when you combine these two things, that makes a massive difference.”
Utah scored their first goal in the 61st minute in a free kick just outside the Wave penalty area after a foul by Perle Morroni. Claudia Zornoza took the kick sending a curling ball over the Wave wall and past the reach of a diving Kailen Sheridan to make it 2-1.
The goal gave Utah momentum as they appeared to play with more confidence before adding on with an equalizing goal. Utah forward Mina Tanaka scored after receiving a through ball behind the Wave back line. Tanaka ran past Kennedy Wesley and put a strong foot on the ball to make it 2-2.
The second goal woke up the Snapdragon crowd, and the Wave responded well as they brought up their intensity and press to eventually score a game winner in the 74th minute.
The goal came from Gia Corley who was pressing high and intercepted a poor pass by the Utah goalkeeper just outside the penalty area. She brought the ball in and shot the ball strongly to deflect off a Utah defender and into the goal to make it 3-2.
“It's nice and positive that we found a way to win, again I think that’s really credit to the team’s mentality that when we concede the second goal that we don’t let that collapse,” Eidevall said. “So after the second goal we’re stepping out and regaining a little bit of that intensity in our pressure and we had a good period here until we scored the third goal.”
The Wave will play their next match on Saturday, March 29 against the reigning NWSL Champion and NWSL Shield winners, Orlando Pride, in a nationally televised game on ESPN at 9 a.m. PST at Inter & Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
