Kornieck Scores Brace in the Final 10 Minutes to Give San Diego Wave FC a 2-2 Draw

Wave FC remains top of the table after securing a point at home in front of a sold-out crowd on Pride Night.

WAVE FC POST-MATCH RECAP AND QUOTES

Wednesday, June 8, 2022 vs. Portland Thorns FC | San Diego, CA

Photos & Zoom Recording Available HERE

Please credit: San Diego Wave FC

Game Highlights HERE

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (June 8, 2022) – In their first ever themed match, San Diego Wave FC celebrated Pride Night in front of a sold-out crowd at Torero Stadium, with $1 from every ticket sold benefiting San Diego Pride and their commitment to fostering pride, equality, and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities locally, nationally, and globally.

After a four-game away stretch, San Diego Wave FC looked to continue their top-of-the-table performances in front of their home crowd. Wave FC showed a dominant performance; they out-shot the Thorns 21-9, and held 60.7% of the possession, but found themselves down 2 goals by the 46th minute.

The first goal of the night came in the 22nd minute after a penalty kick was called against San Diego. Thorns FC forward Sophia Smith put away the penalty, giving Portland the 1-0 lead.

In an attempt to answer back, Wave FC forward Sofia Jakobsson put a firm shot on goal that was tipped by Thorns’ keeper and appeared to be over the line, but the referee decided it wasn’t a goal, and Wave FC went into the half down by one.

Portland Thorns FC came out of the locker room strong, tallying their second goal of the night in the 46th minute, which came from forward Christine Sinclair.

As the clock was winding down, San Diego was winding up, finding two goals in the final 10 minutes of play. Despite trailing 0-2, Wave FC fought until the 80th minute to answer back with both goals scored by Taylor Kornieck. Her first goal came in the 81st minute off a corner kick that was bouncing around in the box, and ultimately assisted by Amirah Ali. Korneick found the ball at her feet and buried it top shelf past the keeper.

Kornieck’s finishing did not end there. In the final minutes of the match, defender Christen Westphal served a cross into the box, finding the 6-foot-one Kornieck’s head, who smashed it past the Portland keeper, equalizing the match, and sending her team home with a point.

San Diego Wave FC returns to Torero Stadium this Sunday, June 12th at 2pm to take on OL Reign. Tickets are on sale at https://sandiegowavefc.com/tickets/.

Wave FC Goals: 81’ Taylor Kornieck, 88’ Taylor Kornieck

Thorns FC Goals: 22’ Sophia Smith (PK), 46’ Christine Sinclair

Misconduct Summary

Wave FC: Casey Stoney (yellow)

Thorns FC: Rocky Rodriguez 70’ (yellow), Madison Pogarch 85’ (yellow)

Wave FC starting lineup

Goalkeeper: Kailen Sheridan

Defenders: Kristen McNabb, Naomi Girma, Kaleigh Riehl, Christen Westphal

Midfielders: Belle Briede, Emily van Egmond, Taylor Kornieck

Forwards: Alex Morgan [c], Kelsey Turnbow, Sofia Jakobsson

Subs Used: Jodie Taylor, Amirah Ali, Makenzy Doniak

SD Wave defender Naomi Girma:

On staying on top of the standings:

“We’ve learned that every game is a battle, home or away. We need to keep making sure that we get any points in any game we can. That has been our biggest takeaway in order to stay at the top of the standings.”

SD Wave midfielder Taylor Kornieck:

On her two goals:

“We kept pushing and pushing and never let up, that’s what got us here. I couldn’t have done it without Chris’ [Christen Westphal] amazing asist and the incredible energy from the crowd.”

On her growth in the league:

“I’m playing with some of the best players in the league and under Casey, I feel so grateful. I’ve seen my growth over the last two years and I owe it all to this team.”

SD Wave head coach Casey Stoney:

On Kornieck’s success:

“I think in the last 18 weeks, the progress she has made is all credit to her because she has worked extremely hard, she’s coachable, and she was outstanding tonight. People recognize her for her height but look at how she used her feet and the ball to dictate the game.”

On the team’s performance:

“I thought our compactness, possession and how we got in behind to create problems for them was great, especially considering we just played over the weekend. I can’t help but be pleased with the coaches, players and overall the ability to execute the game plan. I think we played some of the best football I’ve seen us play.”

On the home crowd:

“We are a different team when we play at home and it’s because of the thousands of fans that get behind the players. They give us the extra energy and motivation, they’re incredible.”

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About San Diego Wave Fútbol Club

San Diego Wave Fútbol Club is the 12^th and newest member of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). The club’s vision is to be a force for good through the game we love and is led by President Jill Ellis, former head coach of the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) and two-time World Cup champion. Together with Head Coach Casey Stoney, the club will bring the highest level of world-class, professional soccer to San Diego. USWNT standouts Alex Morgan and Abby Dahlkemper were two of the first players signed to the club that consists of athletes representing six international soccer federations, including US, Mexico, Canada, Sweden, England and Australia. The team will begin play during its inaugural season at its temporary home, University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium. The new Snapdragon Stadium will serve as Wave FC’s permanent home upon completion of construction, scheduled for September 2022. Learn more about the club and players at www.SanDiegoWaveFC.com.

“It was probably one of our poorest performances as a collective and that starts with me in terms of the set-up of the team. On Wednesday, we need to react and recover. Obviously it’ll be a tough game Wednesday against Portland. I have to credit the resilience and the character to get a point today when arguably we could’ve been out of the game long before. Real credit to the team with the character shown to take a point from here. I felt like [Kansas City] created problems for us up top tonight with their front two, so it’s something we need to look at, analyze and improve very quickly ahead of Wednesday.

On the impressive shifts rookie Naomi Girma has put in this season

“That’s full credit to Naomi [Girma]. She’s extremely coachable and she came in like that. She’s gotten better and better every week. She’s a very mature player in her approach. Her game understanding is excellent, so that’s credit to her and her hard work, coachability and how much attention she pays to the details. We’re very, very lucky that we have her.”

SD Wave forward Sofia Jakobsson:

On teammate Alex Morgan scoring eight goals in seven matches

“I’ve known her for many years. I know she’s an amazing player, who scores a lot of goals and I’m really happy to have a player of her calibur on our team.”

SD Wave forward Alex Morgan:

On the reason behind her eight goals in seven matches

“The reason I’m getting these goals is because we’re getting shots inside the 18-yard box, we’re forcing hand balls from opponents, Sofia [Jakobsson] is making amazing crosses and the ball just lays up for me. The wave of attack that we’ve had has given us more opportunities inside the box to put these goals away.”

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About San Diego Wave Fútbol Club