San Diego (May 6, 2024) – San Diego Wave FC (2-3-1, 7 points) return home to face Utah Royals FC (1-5-1, 3 points) at Snapdragon Stadium on Wednesday night. The match kicks off at 7 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
This will be the first regular season meeting between San Diego and Utah’s newest expansion team.
Last Time Out
In San Diego’s last match, the Wave fell 2-1 to Seattle Reign on May 3 at Lumen Field. San Diego opened the scoring in the 11th minute when defender Kennedy Wesley placed a free kick into the box that bounced around until finding the feet of forward Kyra Caursa. The San Diego native took a first-time shot that rebounded off the crossbar but fell directly back to her and she was there to finish the chance. Seattle would equalize in the 35th minute when an errant touch was intercepted by forward Bethany Balcer, who slipped it into the goal, before forward Veronica Latsko directed a free kick with her head for the game-winning goal in the 89th minute.
Utah is coming off a 2-1 loss to Angel City at America First Field on May 3. Angel City scored both of their goals in the first half of the match with a header from forward Sydney Leroux finding the back of the net in the 29th minute and nearly 10 minutes later, forward Claire Emslie converted a penalty kick in the 40th minute. The Royals got on the board in the 51st minute when forward Ally Senator’s cross found midfielder Dana Foederer unmarked in the box and she took a one-touch shot that found the near post.
Players to Watch
San Diego has five different goal scorers who have each scored one goal so far this season. Forward Kyra Carusa secured her first of the 2024 season in the Wave’s last match against Seattle. Carusa joined the Wave in the middle of the 2023 season and scored two goals in her first five appearances, including the game-winning goal to secure a playoff spot for her hometown club. This season, Carusa has made six appearances while logging 202 minutes for the Wave.
Madison Pogarch and Kaleigh Riehl will play San Diego for the first time since Utah signed the defenders in the 2024 offseason. In Riehl’s two seasons with the Wave, she appeared in 41 regular season matches while scoring one goal. Pogarch joined San Diego in July of 2022 and made a combined 25 appearances in her time with the Wave. In the 2023 season, Pogarch recorded a goal and assist for San Diego. Since joining the Royals, Pogarch has played every minute of every match while Riehl has played the full 90 minutes in each of her four appearances and recorded one assist.
How to Watch
Wednesday’s match will be played at Snapdragon Stadium and tickets are available here. The match will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network at 7 p.m. PT.
