by The good news for San Diego Wave FC is that they ended a scoring drought that began in mid-June on Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t sufficient to guarantee victory.
The opening goal in front of 15,834 spectators didn’t come until the 85th minute as the Wave and their fiercest NWSL rival, Angel City FC, fought to a 1-1 stalemate.
The final score of the most recent meeting between the two professional women’s soccer teams in Southern California was identical to the 1-1 draw that the clubs fought to in the season’s first game on March 16 in Los Angeles.
On Saturday, neither team scored in the first half, making it the third straight game in which the Wave did not score in the first forty-five minutes.
Furthermore, after the team had drawn 0-0 in its previous two games, with a month-long league break in between, it was the sixth consecutive half in which the team failed to score.
They looked to a strange source to end the drought.
Wave forward Makenzy Robbe put the team ahead 1-0 in the 85th minute with a left-footed shot to the bottom left corner of the net. Robbe, a backup who entered the game in the 68th minute, scored his first goal of the season.
However, Angel City, who had lost their previous six games (0-5-1), continued to fight. Defender Alanna Kennedy equalized the score early in the 92nd minute after bouncing a header into the net.
San Diego and Angel City have now drawn four of their last five encounters.
San Diego currently holds fourth place in the 14-team NWSL standings with a 7-3-5 record and 26 points. With 16 points and a 4-7-4 record, Angel City is in 11th position.
Despite San Diego’s statistical dominance in the first half, the Los Angeles-based club performed well in the second half.
During the first half, Angel City had zero shots on goal while SD had just one. But during the course of the game, Angel City had five shots on goal while the Wave only had three.
The Wave also dominated the battle for possession in the first half, holding the ball for 64% of the first forty-five minutes of play. By the conclusion of the second half, though, that had shrunk to 57%.
Get neighborhood news in your inbox. It’s free and enlightening.
Become one of the 20,000+ individuals who receive breaking news alerts and the Times of San Diego in their inbox every day at 8 a.m.
Weekly updates from San Diego communities have also been provided! You acknowledge and agree to the terms by clicking “Sign Up.” Choose from the options below.
The contest on Saturday night was the Wave’s first home game since June 22 because of the previously mentioned break that concluded in early August. SD is 1-1-3 in its last five games overall and has a 3-2-3 record at home this season.
On August 16, the Wave will travel to play Bay FC.
Notes: Laurina Fazer, a French midfielder the Wave recruited in late July, watched the game even though she wasn’t wearing a uniform. After five seasons with Paris Saint-Germain of the French division, the 21-year-old Fazer has joined the Wave. She joins international sensation Delphine Cascarino, midfielder Kenza Dali, and defender Perle Morroni, who have all started for San Diego this season, as Wave FC’s fourth Frenchwoman. The French Connection is their moniker.
