The USWNT defeated Brazil 1-0 in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup final this Sunday, March 10, at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego and there were three San Diego Wave players that participated in the historic win.

Alex Morgan, Jaedyn Shaw, and Naomi Girma all played in the grand final on Sunday, and all had massive roles throughout the tournament. Abby Dahlkemper also played her part in the tournament, but she did not get any minutes against Brazil.

Alex Morgan was not originally on the USWNT roster for this tournament, but an unfortunate injury to San Diego native Mia Fishel gave Morgan an opportunity to play in this W Gold Cup. The San Dimas, Calif. native quickly became a consistent starter for this team and played an important role in this triumph scoring two goals and providing an assist throughout the competition.

“We deserve this win and I feel like this whole tournament it was a long month, so to get this trophy at the end is great and definitely gonna celebrate it before we dig in and get to work”, Morgan said. The San Diego Wave captain also talked about the San Diego crowd for the final at Snapdragon Stadium. “It was so amazing to have a sold-out crowd. To see 32 thousand people here supporting us, a couple of Brazilian fans, don’t forget them, but yeah, it was awesome. Just setting the tone for the season”.

Alex Morgan on winning the W Gold Cup, the San Diego crowd, No.7@EVT_News pic.twitter.com/9bAGpKcUrA

— Francisco Velasco (@FranciscoEfV) March 11, 2024

The 34-year-old forward was forced to wear No. 7 in this tournament because of CONCACAF rules and responded with “probs not” when asked if she would keep the number instead of her usual No. 13.

Jaedyn Shaw was one of the highlights for the USWNT in this tournament, winning the best player of the tournament award after scoring four goals throughout it. Shaw talked about being awarded that recognition, “I think I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I’m just really happy that us as a team won and getting this award means a lot to me. I feel that it’s really just a testament to how well my teammates have been for me and help me integrate to this team.”

When Shaw was asked what she learned from this tournament, she replied, “Finding the balance taking what we can from the last game and like flipping a switch and being like okay we have a short turnaround and make sure we’re ready for this opponent, because we really only have two or three days before each game. Mentally, you have to really stay locked in, and obviously, my attention span isn’t fully there yet, but I’m really trying to make sure I’m locked in for my teammates and make sure I can impact this team.”

San Diego Wave’s Jaedyn Shaw after winning the CONCACAF W Gold Cup with the #USWNT🇺🇸@EVT_News pic.twitter.com/44w15Gpd4h

— Francisco Velasco (@FranciscoEfV) March 11, 2024

Twila Kilgore experimented with her backline throughout the tournament, but Naomi Girma ended up starting four games in the tournament, including all phases of the knockout stage. Girma talked about her personal growth in this tournament, “I think it’s big to go out in games like this. To battle, and maybe it’s not the most perfect game, but we found a way to get a result, and I think for me and for the team, it just helps us build confidence that we can play a lot of different types of opponents, and we can get results, and we can keep clean sheets against a Brazil that is very attack-minded, throws a lot of numbers forward so I think it was a big tournament for us and this game generally was very big to be able to get a result.”

The San Diego Wave was very present in this tournament with its players and now will be back at Snapdragon Stadium on March 23 to face the Kansas City Current.

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.