The San Diego Wave played their penultimate game in the NWSL regular season this Saturday, October 19.

San Diego visited the Kansas City Current in what was a must-win game heading into it for a sliver of opportunity to remain in playoff contention.

That minuscule glimmer of hope quickly evaporated in this match, with Kansas City earning a 2-0 lead by halftime. The first goal of the match came in the 22nd minute when Michelle Cooper fired a shot from outside of the penalty area into the back of the net. Vanessa DiBernardo began the scoring play with a cross into the box that was deflected straight to Cooper.

Kailen Sheridan was clearly caught off guard by the shot as her effort to stop the strike was not the best, just grazing  the sphere. Sheridan’s day went from bad to worse as the second goal of the half was an own goal by the Canadian keeper.

Michelle Cooper sent in a cross towards Sheridan, and the San Diego shot-stopper made contact with the ball but could not fully grasp it. This was an amateur mistake by one of the best goalkeepers in the world and one that really set the tone for the match.

After this goal, the Wave looked nowhere near being able to come back into the game and provide a competitive effort. Landon Donovan tried to be aggressive at the start of the second half by bringing on Jaedyn Shaw and Amirah Ali for Danielle Colaprico and Mya Jones.

However, not much changed in this game, with Kansas City scoring a third unanswered goal in the 54th minute. Nichelle Prince used her physicality to maintain possession inside of the box and provided an assist for Temwa Chawinga, who scored easily in front of net.

The home team did not stop the onslaught with a fourth goal in the 80th minute, scored by Brazilian star Debinha. The South American player made an impressive run and fired a shot to get past a Wave team that had given up several minutes before this moment.

Whoa.

Delphine Cascarino nets a BEAUTY into the top corner 🤯 pic.twitter.com/3MBW7m67Zf

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 19, 2024

Delphine Cascarino was able to get a consolation goal in the dying minutes of the clash, coming from her immense individual talent. The French international fired a punt from way beyond the penalty area and was able to locate the sphere in the top left corner of the net.

The final whistle signified the competitive ending of the 2024 San Diego Wave season, with nothing to play in the last game of the season. The loss marked a four-game losing streak in all competitions and elimination from all remaining tournaments in the campaign.

Heading into the last game of the season, Landon Donovan was only able to win four out of 12 games managing San Diego. This is by far the worst season in San Diego Wave history, with a serious need to restructure heading into 2025.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.