San Diego Wave lose fourth consecutive game with 1-0 loss at Chicago
Credit: San Diego Wave FC
The San Diego Wave played their first NWSL league game of the season without their international players this Saturday, July 1, against the Chicago Red Stars at SeatGeek Stadium.
The Wave suffered a 1-0 loss against Chicago in what was a very hard-fought match with a bit of misfortune for San Diego.
Casey Stoney’s team was heading into the match on a three-game losing streak in all competitions and really needed a positive result from this match. Instead, the result was quite disappointing, especially considering that the Wave did not play a bad game at SeatGeek Stadium. Casey Stoney gave Cheyenne Shorts and Madison Pogarch their first league starts of the season, and Danielle Colaprico wore the captain’s armband for the first time ever with the Wave.
San Diego was the better team in the first half, with 61 percent possession and seven shots to Chicago’s three. In the 17th minute, Rachel Hill was very unlucky as she fired a shot that hit the post and denied the Wave an advantage. The Wave’s misfortune continued later in the half, as Makenzy Doniak had a goal called offside by VAR in the 41st minute.
Just before the end of the first half, Ella Stevens gave the Red Stars the lead with a goal via a header off a cross by Tatumn Milazzo. In the second half, Casey Stoney continued to add pressure to the home team and maintained the same offensive pace that the Wave showed in the opening 45 minutes. Unfortunately, the Wave just were not able to find the back of the net on the day, finishing the game with 15 shots.
Chicago goalkeeper Emily Boyd had a fantastic game, keeping the clean sheet and finishing the match with four saves. San Diego’s Shae Yanez also had a solid game, despite the loss, with two saves, as she has shown she can be a capable replacement for Kailen Sheridan while the Canadian keeper is at the World Cup.
The Wave have now lost four games in a row in all competitions and have dropped to sixth place on the NWSL table at the time of writing. San Diego will return home to Snapdragon Stadium in their next game to face the Washington Spirit and will look to get their first win at home in over two months.
San Diego Wave lineup: Shae Yanez, Madison Pogarch, Cheyenne Shorts, Kaleigh Riehl, Christen Westphal, Danielle Colaprico, Taylor Kornieck (90+’ Shea Connors), Meggie Dougherty-Howard (85′ Melanie Barcenas), Rachel Hill (46′ Kelsey Turnbow), Jaedyn Shaw, Makenzy Doniak (74′ Amirah Ali)
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.