Friday night marked San Diego Wave FC’s first international match. They hosted Club América Femenil at Snapdragon Stadium.

San Diego, being a border town, was playing against a team from Mexico, so a lot of Hispanic music was being played. Adding to the cultural richness of the event, a local mariachi band performed both the national anthems of the United States and Mexico

This was the second match of the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup. A tournament that consists of 20 teams from both leagues. Wave was victorious in their first match, while America fell to Angel City.

In the first half, Club America applied pressure for most of the time and had three more shots, but Wave’s third-string goalkeeper, Morgan Messner, impressed in her debut. On short notice, Messner made a handful of remarkable saves.

“It was a bit of a last-minute decision, but I felt that I had the team behind me,” Messner said. “Felt confident in our preparation. Just wanted to go out there and have some fun.”

The Wave was short-handed, with three players out and six players on international duty for the Olympic Games in Paris. On that list, goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan is playing for Canada.

Club America’s aggressive play in the attacking third continued to create problems for the opposing defenders, but they couldn’t score.

“We were fortunate to go into halftime 0-0, but we did, and sometimes that happens in football,” Wave interim coach Paul Buckle said.

As the sun sets at the conclusion of the first half, the Luna (moon) rises.

Club America defender Karen Luna charged into the middle of the box from a corner kick and headed the ball into the back of the net in the 78th minute.

KAREN LUNA REALLY DID THAT 😱@AmericaFemenil leads in the 78th minute! pic.twitter.com/0aivksky0h

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) July 27, 2024

After the game, Ángel Villacampa commented on the noticeable cheers for his team throughout the 90 minutes and said he feels a responsibility to make them proud. 

“They really put us under a lot of pressure, and kudos to them, their gameplan was great,” Messner said. “We broke through a few times but super impressed by them, it was a lot of fun to play against that style.”

Down the stretch, the Wave had several opportunities to tie the game. Their closest chance came in the 89th minute when midfielder Kimmi Ascanio received a cross and narrowly missed to the left of the post.

In the final minute of added time, Club America’s midfielder Kiana Palacios maneuvers through the wave of defenders and seals the victory with the second goal of the night.

Despite the two goals, Buckle was impressed with Messner’s debut performance.

“It was absolutely amazing,” Buckle said when asked about third-string goalkeeper Morgan Messner. “To come in at any time is hard and add on the day before. She was ready. She made great saves.”

Wave FC will play their next NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup match on Aug. 1 against Angel City FC.

Sebastian Sanchez

Sebastian Sanchez was born and raised in San Diego. He recently received his bachelor’s degree in Sports Journalism from Arizona State University. A passionate storyteller who has experience covering the Phoenix Mercury and Suns. He has also written for multiple news outlets, reporting on various sports at the college and high school levels.