SAN DIEGO (Oct. 18, 2024) – San Diego Wave FC (5-12-7, 22 points) travels to Kansas City to face the Current (14-3-7, 49 points) at CPKC Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 19. Kickoff is slated for 10:00 a.m. PT and the match will be broadcast nationally on CBS.
In all-time meetings between the two sides, the record stands at 1-3-1 for San Diego with Kansas City holding the advantage. The last time the two sides met was on March 23 in the season opener for San Diego at Snapdragon Stadium when the Wave fell 2-1 in the matchup. Sofia Jakobsson opened the scoring for San Diego in the 18th minute when the forward hit a close-range shot that found the back of the net. However, Kansas City equalized in the 44th minute off a goal from Isabel Rodriguez. The Current would earn their game-winning goal in the 70th minute from a penalty kick taken by captain Lo’eau LaBonta.
Last Time Out
In San Diego’s last regular season match, the team fell 2-0 to the Houston Dash on Oct. 13. The Dash was awarded a penalty kick after Video Assistant Review and it was Bárbara Olivieri who converted the opening goal in the 30th minute. Houston then doubled their lead in the 72nd minute after an errant play at midfield was caused by Olivieri. The midfielder immediately went on the attack and found a wide-open Ramona Bachmann on the back post, scoring the final goal of the match.
Kansas City is coming off a 1-0 win over Bay FC in the club’s last match on Oct. 4. The Current found the back of the net in the 35th minute by none other than Temwa Chawinga, the league’s leading scorer this season. Chawinga intercepted the ball from the Bay FC defender in the attacking third and took one touch ahead before firing a shot from outside the box for the game-winning goal.
Players to Watch
10 of the last 17 goals in all competitions for the Wave have involved San Diego’s María Sánchez. Most recently, the forward recorded her team-leading fourth assist of the season on Sept. 28 when she played a ball out wide to midfielder Melanie Barcenas who dribbled at the backline and took a shot to secure her first professional goal. In Concacaf play, Sánchez also became the first Mexican international to record a hat-trick for an NWSL team when she helped the Wave come from behind to defeat Portland Thorns 3-2 on Sept. 18.
Kansas City’s Temwa Chawinga leads the NWSL in goals scored this season as she tallied her 19th goal in the club’s last match against Bay FC, marking her fourth goal in four straight games. The 19th goal for Chawinga was also a record-breaking one for the forward as it helped her surpass Sam Kerr (18 goals in 2019) on the NWSL’s all-time regular season scoring leaderboard.
How to Watch
Saturday’s match between the Wave and the Current will be played at CPKC Stadium with kickoff slated for 10:00 a.m. PT. The match will be broadcast nationally on CBS.
