The San Diego Wave FC draw at home against the OL Reign in their sixth game of their inaugural season.
On Saturday night at Torero Stadium, Wave FC faced off against the Seattle-based club that had yet to see a defeat entering this weekend.
The match started off with full force due to Wave's acceleration coming off the gate.
However, an unfortunate mistake by goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan led to a goal for the OL Reign at the 12th minute mark.
And still, San Diego kept seeking opportunities on the offensive end despite the early give-away goal. Wave FC midfielder Belle Briede launched two shots just outside of the penalty box in the 16th and 32nd minute that had Torero Stadium on its feet, as the local team kept knocking on the door in the first half.
And then the World Champion delivered.
San Diego Wave FC was given a penalty just before half-time at the 45th minute.
Alex Morgan calmly delivered with coolness, and found the back of the net as the first half was coming to an end.
Wave FC head coach Casey Stoney says that Alex has been such a monumental piece for the club so far in this inaugural season, to the point where Stoney is starting to believe Alex could possible find herself representing the Red White and Blue once again.
"Alex has been incredible for us, I think she's been in the best form she's been in for the past two years," Stoney said. "Internationally, I think she might be looking into getting back on that squad(USWNT), because she's been up there in terms of assists and goals and she's leading the way for us at the moment."
Stoney, who was born in the United Kingdom, said after the match that adapting to this city and this league has been quite the challenge, but a challenge she is embracing along the way due to the competitiveness and quality of players she gets to coach every day.
"Adapting to this culture, adapting to a different league. But you know what? I love it here," Stoney said on her transition to the NWSL. "It feels like home already. I love this league, I love how competitive it is, and I love how coachable the players are. I've got an incredible group of young women that I get to work with every single day, I am very lucky." she added.
Wave FC defender Christen Westphal says that despite not getting the win Saturday night, she is seeing the progress being made within their club as the season evolves, even with the losses they've had to face early on the season.
"It was a very hard-fought 90 minutes, it was really cool to see how much we progressed coming off the tough losses on the road," Westphal said. "I think it shows how we are as a team, we are gritty and we work really hard. I've been excited to see our growth through each game, especially after the massive growth between last week and this game, I'm just really proud of ourselves." she added.
The real deal begins on May 1st for San Diego Wave FC, when they face the Houston Dash at the PNC Stadium for the regular season opener.
