Goalkeepers shine in scoreless draw between SD Wave & Angel City
Credit: San Diego Wave FC
The San Diego Wave played their 10th game in the 2024 NWSL regular season this Thursday, May 23, against Angel City FC at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Alex Morgan and Jaedyn Shaw were notably back from respective injuries for this match, while Naomi Girma, Abby Dahlkemper, and Sofia Jakobsson were all in their second game back from injury.
Jaedyn Shaw cracked the starting 11 for this game, while Alex Morgan began the match on the bench. The attack was an intriguing one comprised of Jaedyn Shaw, Maria Sanchez, Mya Jones, and Elyse Bennett. Angel City were dealing with some injuries of their own with Sarah Gorden, Juno Endo and Christen Press all unavailable.
Both teams had been dealing with offensive inconsistencies heading into this game, and that was very evident in this match. Both teams failed to capitalize on the day at BMO Stadium, and the Wave were severely unlucky towards the end of the match.
DiDi Haračić with two massive saves to deny the Wave in the final minutes.
This is the ACFC Save of the Match for #LAvSD.
90+9’ | @Dideeds #AngelCityFC | @PNCBank pic.twitter.com/iTnS2XQNoZ— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) May 24, 2024
Alex Morgan made her awaited return in the 63rd minute when she replaced Elyse Bennett; Sofia Jakobsson also came on for Mya Jones. Morgan did not have much direct participation with the sphere in her first minutes back from injury but was severely unlucky not to score in the dying minutes of the match when a header of hers was stopped by Angel City goalkeeper Dijana Haracic.
The play began with a free kick by Jaedyn Shaw, who found Emily van Egmond, who headed the ball, and her attempt smashed the crossbar. Alex Morgan was there on the rebound, but the San Diego Wave just could not get the ball in the net against Angel City.
The frustration must have been mutual, as Kailen Sheridan also came away with some key saves against the Los Angeles team. The goalkeepers were the stars in this NWSL match, with Sheridan and Haracic combining for 10 saves on the night. The match was a very hard-fought one at BMO Stadium, with the draw being a very fair result, given how the game played out.
San Diego Wave will return to San Diego to face Orlando Pride on June 7 in what is expected to be a tough match against the first place team in NWSL.
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.