San Diego Wave FC take the field for the first time in 2024 for the lone match of the 2024 Challenge Cup on Friday night. The match will kick off at 5:00 p.m. PT at Red Bull Arena.

Tune-In 

Fans can watch the match on Prime Video.

Challenge Cup 2024 

The 2024 Challenge Cup is formatted to feature the 2023 NWSL Shield winners, Wave FC, and the 2023 NWSL Champions, Gotham FC, in a single-game matchup. San Diego clinched the Shield on Oct. 15 with a 2-0 win over Racing Louisville, finishing the season with the best regular season record in NWSL. Gotham finished the season by defeating OL Reign in a 2-1 final on Nov. 11 at Snapdragon Stadium to win the 2023 NWSL Championship.

San Diego Wave vs. NJ/NY Gotham

In all-time meetings between the two sides, San Diego holds the advan- tage with a 4-0-0 record against Gotham. In the two most recent match- es, forward Makenzy Doniak scored in each game for the Wave, once on June 4 and again on Aug. 19. San Diego’s captain, Alex Morgan, currently holds the club-record for 10 goals scored against Gotham since joining the Wave ahead of the inaugural season.

San Diego Wave Outlook

San Diego welcomed seven new players to their roster during the offseason including two rookies from the 2024 NWSL draft and two international players. Defender Kennedy Wesley from Stanford was the Wave’s first selection in the first round (12th overall) of the draft, and forward Mya Jones was selected in the third round (47th overall) from the University of Memphis. Kaitlyn Torpey joins the Wave from Australia after playing three seasons with Melbourne City and Swedish defender Hanna Lundkvist joins San Diego from Atlético de Madrid. Among other players, Savannah McCaskill joined the Wave after two seasons withAngel City where she appeared in 23 games (23 starts) while earning four goals and three assists in the 2023 season.

Gotham FC Outlook

NJ/NY Gotham FC is entering the Challenge Cup after earning an addi- tional trophy from the Women’s Cup Colombia during their preseason. In their final match of the tournament versus Racing Louisville, forward Esther González led the team with two goals to help secure a 3-1 win. In the offseason, the reigning NWSL Champions received four current U.S. Women’s National team players including Tierna Davidson, Emily Sonnett, Rose Lavelle, and Crystal Dunn who all have the potential to make their debut for Gotham against the Wave.

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