San Diego Wave ended their three-game winning streak with a loss on Saturday, Sept. 16, at Snapdragon Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 15,832 in a loss against Kansas City Current. 

The Wave played very poorly during the first half, allowing two goals in the first 30 minutes, and were unable to make a shot on target for the first 45 minutes. 

“We started flat, we started slow, we started lethargic, we can’t start like that, you can’t give a player like Debinha that much time on the edge of the box,” Head Coach Casey Stoney said. “Obviously, extremely disappointed with our first half an hour. It was in our hands, (and) now it’s out of our hands.”

The Brazilian star for Kansas City, Debinha, got the scoring started in the third minute with a beautiful goal from outside the box in the top corner. Wave defenders left her unmarked and a lot of space in front of her to take a strong shot toward the opposite side of the goal. Kailen Sheridan just managed to touch it with her hands, but the shot was too strong, making it 1-0. 

Kristen Hamilton scored the second goal for the Current after they passed the ball easily between each other in the attacking third with little pressure from the Wave. A cross went to Hamilton easily in the center of the box, where she kicked in easily to that Sheridan nearly saved, but ultimately, the ball rolled in, making it 2-0. 

By the 30th minute, the Wave seemingly had enough, playing much better on the offensive side, pushing the ball downfield and creating scoring opportunities. 

The Wave had one chance that nearly resulted in a penalty as Danielle Colaprico received a ball in front of three Current defenders and sent it out toward Rachel Hill, who crossed it back toward the center. Sofia Jakobsson was able to head the ball toward the goal, but her shot deflected off the shoulder of a Current player before going out for a corner kick. Many Wave players pointed to their hands, seeing a potential handball penalty, but after a VAR review, the penalty was not awarded. 

The Wave had two more chances on corner kicks following that but could not get on the scoresheet nor make a shot on goal for the entirety of the first half. 

The Wave came on much stronger in the second half but could only score once as the inability to apply finishing touch despite many scoring chances was exposed once again. 

In the 50th minute, Sierra Enge scored the only Wave goal off a corner kick by Jaedyn Shaw. Emily van Egmond ran forward and flicked it back with her head to the middle of the box for Enge to hit the ball with the outside of her “oot to make it 2-1.

“It was a great way to uplift and hopefully build some momentum, so super fun to score, but obviously wish we could have pushed for”ard and got the win,” said EnWave’sher goal. 

The Wave’s next two matches are away, with the first being against the first-place Portland Thorns, who knocked them out of the NWSL playoffs last season. The next home match is on October 15 against Racing Louisville.

Abraham Zepeda

Abraham Zepeda is a bilingual Chula Vista Native covering the Tijuana Xolos for EVT. He spent the summer of 2022 covering San Diego Loyal SC and San Diego Wave FC. He is also currently a student at the University of Oregon pursuing a degree in journalism.