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NWSL San Diego Wave FC

Alex Morgan Scores Again as San Diego Wave FC Wins Their Third Straight to Begin Their Inaugural Season

May 17, 2022 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
San Diego Wave FC News Release


SAN DIEGO, Calif. - San Diego Wave Fútbol Club (3-0-0) continues to make history as they won their third-straight match to begin their inaugural season, 2-1, over the Chicago Red Stars (1-1-0) in front of 5,000 fans on Sunday afternoon at Torero Stadium. Alex Morgan converted a penalty kick in the 56th minute for her fifth goal in her last two matches, while Kaleigh Riehl added what turned out to be the game-winner in the 89th minute off of a set piece from Kelsey Turnbow.

Wave FC, who recorded back-to-back shutouts to begin the season, held the Chicago Red Stars scoreless until a 90th minute goal by Ava Cook brought the margin to one goal. San Diego's defense overall held Chicago to nine total shots, only three of which were on frame. Conversely, the Wave FC attack racked up 19 shots and were consistent in their high attack. Sofia Jakobsson pushed the Red Stars defense to the breaking point early in the second half when she drew a foul in the box to set up Morgan's penalty kick goal for the lead.

Riehl, who scored the first-ever goal in club history against Angel City in the Challenge Cup, found herself alone in the box on a designed set piece when the ball arrived in from Turnbow. After controlling the ball with her chest, Riehl slotted the ball into the right corner of the net to give Wave a 2-0 advantage in the 89th.

San Diego will take their historic three-game winning streak on the road to Kentucky when they face Racing Louisville FC on Wednesday at 4:30pm PT. It begins a stretch of four-straight road matches before the club returns home to Torero Stadium on June 8th vs. Portland Thorns FC.

Wave FC Goals: Alex Morgan (56'), Kaleigh Riehl (89')

Chicago Red Stars Goals: Ava Cook (90')

Misconduct Summary: Jodie Taylor (yellow card), Kailen Sheridan (yellow card)

Wave FC starting lineup:

Goalkeeper: Kailen Sheridan

Defenders: Kaleigh Riehl, Tegan McGrady, Christen Westphal, Naomi Girma

Midfielders: Kristen McNabb, Taylor Kornieck, Emily van Egmond

Forwards: Jodie Taylor, Amirah Ali, Alex Morgan [c]

Subs Used: Sofia Jakobsson, Kelsey Turnbow, Belle Briede, Katie Johnson

SD Wave Assistant Coach Rich Gunney:

On the 3-0 start to the season

"Immensely proud. Proud of the whole staff, Casey [Stoney], the environment and the experience we've created already and how the players are thriving and performing. I'm immensely proud of how they've conducted themselves, how they're playing, how they're performing and we want to support them further. We'll continue to do that and I'm sure they're going to keep responding to that because that's what they've shown so far. It's enjoyable to see."

On the club's mentality heading into four-straight road matches

"I think the group has shown already across the whole team, players, staff, that it's going to take a big team effort together and the mentality piece is important. We showed some character in the Challenge Cup, we've had some adversity we've had to respond to, we've gone to Houston which is a tough place to go and play, and we've worked hard and gotten the result."

On the club's effort in the second half of matches

"It's a case of each game is different. It's a challenge. Chicago came with a lot of heart and determination, especially at the end there. We'll be frustrated and disappointed with how we closed the game out, so we have some learnings there. ... It was a patchy first-half performance, we made a few small adjustments and I'm really pleased with the mindset and the attitude of the players coming out in the second half. We put a lot of pressure on Chicago, got the goal and we should've closed out with it being 2-0."

On Abby Dahlkemper's status

"She'll be available for selection for the next game."

SD Wave Defender Kaleigh Riehl:

On her set-piece goal that made it 2-0

"It was a great set piece. It was different than what we'd been doing, because our other ones weren't really working so we changed it up. I found myself wide open and put it away."

On whether they expected to start the season with three straight wins

"I think we go into every game wanting to win and that's the mentality we have. We want to go 4-0 on Wednesday. We're not surprised, we've put in a lot of work on the training ground and our staff has really prepared us well. Today wasn't necessarily our best game, but we were able to grit it out and use that mentality."

SD Wave Forward Sofia Jakobsson:

On her run that led to the penalty kick for Alex Morgan

"I think I played it first to Alex [Morgan] and then she played me again. I could run and felt like I would have a good opportunity to score, but then [Kayla Sharples] fouled me and then we got a penalty."

Check out the San Diego Wave FC Statistics



National Women's Soccer League Stories from May 17, 2022


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