Match Preview: San Diego Wave FC vs. Racing Louisville FC
NWSL San Diego Wave FC

Match Preview: San Diego Wave FC vs. Racing Louisville FC

Published on August 22, 2025 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
San Diego Wave FC News Release


SAN DIEGO - San Diego Wave FC (8-3-5, 29 points) will host Racing Louisville FC (6-6-4, 22 points) at Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 24 in the Club's annual Pride Night, presented by Kaiser Permanente. The match is set to kick off at 5:00 p.m. with tickets available here.

San Diego and Louisville last met on April 19 when the Wave earned a 4-1 win on the road, extending their unbeaten streak against Racing to six straight matches and their advantage in the series to 3-1-3. All three of San Diego's French internationals contributed to the score sheet with Kenza Dali scoring the opening goal, Delphine Cascarino recording a brace and an assist, and Perle Morroni securing her first assist of the season. Wave FC's 17-year-olds also made an impact on the match with Kimmi Ascanio finding her first assist and Melanie Barcenas becoming the second-youngest player to score a match-winning goal in NWSL history.

Last Time Out

San Diego earned a 2-1 win over Bay FC in the Club's last match on Saturday, Aug. 16 in San Jose, Calif. The Wave opened the scoring in the second half when Adriana Leon played in a cross that dropped to Ascanio, who calmly slotted a shot home for her fourth goal of the year. Dali doubled the lead nearly 10 minutes later when she carried the ball down field, passing it off to Leon who gave it back to Dali for a one-touch strike that found the upper corner of the net. An unfortunate handball in the box gave Bay FC a penalty kick that Caroline Conti stepped up to convert from the spot.

Racing Louisville is coming off a 2-2 draw with the Washington Spirit on Friday, Aug. 15. The Spirit got on the board first when a Louisville turnover allowed Sofia Cantore to take the ball and shoot from outside of the box. Taylor Flint created the equalizing opportunity for Racing when the ball was played out of the box for her to run onto and shoot first-time, taking a slight deflection off a Spirit defender into the goal. Louisville was then awarded a penalty kick in the 80th minute that Savannah DeMelo scored to earn Racing the advantage in the match for a short time until Washington equalized in stoppage time. It was the Spirit's Rosemonde Kouassi who fought for the ball at centerfield before taking it all the way towards goal and firing a shot that secured a game-tying goal in the dying moments.

Players to Watch

San Diego's Kenza Dali is coming off a great match against Bay FC where she scored her third goal of the season, earning a spot on CBS Sports' Team of the Week. The midfielder has started every match for the Wave this season and leads the league in touches, passes attempted and passes completed. In the last matchup with Bay, she and her French international teammates were involved in both goals in the Wave's win as Morroni assisted the opening goal and Dali scored the second. Sixteen of the Wave's 27 goals this season have been either scored or assisted (or both) by a French international.

Forward Emma Sears has started and played in every match for Louisville this season and leads the team in goals scored (6). Those six goals Sears has scored in just the first half of the 2025 season are already more than the five she found in her breakout 2024 campaign where she set a Club record for the most goals scored by a Racing rookie. Earlier this season, she became the fourth player in NWSL history to score in four consecutive away matches within a single regular season on May 24.

How to Watch

San Diego Wave and Racing Louisville will kick off at 5:00 p.m. PT at Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 24. Tickets for the match are available for purchase here. The match will be streamed live on Paramount+ and NWSL+, and it will be broadcast locally on KUSI.

Check out the San Diego Wave FC Statistics

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National Women's Soccer League Stories from August 22, 2025


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