The San Diego Wave FC falls shorts against Portland Thorns in their first ever game played in front of San Diego locals.
On Saturday night at a sell-out Torero stadium, San Diego Wave FC made their home debut against the Pacific Northwestern opponent, falling 1-0 against Portland.
The crowd of 6,000 fans in attendance saw the beginning of something special in San Diego, as the expansion franchise now joins the National Soccer Women's League that consists of 12 teams now with the addition of Wave FC and Angel City in Los Angeles.
Saturday's match up started off on a bad note early, when Portland's Sophia Smith scored for the Thorns in the 4th minute of the game, which was enough to secure the win for the Northwestern team last night.
However, overall, Wave FC did not hold back from showing their potential at Torero Stadium. They created multiple scoring opportunities that weren't capitalized, and goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan showed her great skill protecting the net, aside from the one and only goal conceded throughout the match.
Wave FC coach Casey Stone believes that the scoreboard did not reflect how their team performed on the night. Stone says that Wave's performance was deserving of at least a draw in the night.
“Obviously, I am bitterly disappointed we didn’t get the win,” Wave coach Casey Stoney said after the match. “We came here to win and given how we played, I thought we at least deserved to come out of it with a point but it didn’t go our way.”
And as for the 6,000 fans in attendance Saturday night, it was electric at USD's Torero Sadium. Wave's goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan says that this is the type of atmosphere that is going to necessary for the club's eventual success going forward.
“The crowd was awesome,” Sheridan said on the home crowd. “We just fed off that energy. It was so loud. That kind of atmosphere is going to be great for us and bad for teams coming in here to play.”
Wave FC is scheduled to play against Angel City FC once again next week, but this time at home in Torero Stadium, as they seek to claim their first victory in franchise history.
