Harrison, New Jersey (March 15, 2024) – San Diego Wave FC defeated NJ/NY Gotham FC 1-0 at Red Bull Arena on Friday night with an 88th minute goal by forward Alex Morgan. 

The Wave secured the last-minute win when offseason free agent signing Savannah McCaskill hit an inswinging corner that was perfectly placed to Morgan. The captain placed the header in the bottom corner, paving the way for a season-opening trophy. 

Next on the schedule: The Wave open up the 2024 NWSL regular season at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, March 23 at 7:00 p.m. PT when they host Kansas City Current. Tickets are available here and the match will be broadcast live on ION. 

Social: Twitter – @sandiegowavefc | Instagram – @sandiegowavefc | Facebook

Notes:

  • All 3 of SD’s all-time Challenge Cup wins were 1-0 finals. Morgan scored the winner in 2 of them. (The other was an own goal, so she’s the only player in club history to score a Cup game-winner).
  • The newly formatted single-match showdown for the 2024 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup featured the Wave, the winner of the 2023 NWSL Shield and Gotham, reigning NWSL Champions.
  • As part of their partnership of the Challenge Cup match, UKG has provided $3,500 in prize money for the winning team, while players on the opposing team will receive $2,200. In addition, the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup MVP will be awarded an additional $2,000. 
  • Tonight’s match kicked off the Wave’s third season in NWSL. 
  • San Diego owns a 21-10-13 record in the NWSL regular season across the club’s first two season, the most wins of any team in that time span across the league. 

Box Score:
San Diego Wave FC 1:0 NJ/NY Gotham FC

Scoring Summary:
SD – Morgan 88’ (McCaskill)

Misconduct Summary:
NJ – Delanie Sheehan 69’ (Caution)
NJ – Esther Gonzalez 72’ (Caution)
NJ – Nealy Martin 75’ (Caution)
NJ – Burninha 90’ (Caution) 

San Diego Wave FC: GK Sheridan, D Westphal (Torpey 61’), D Dahlkemper, D Girma, D Lundkvist, M van Egmond, M Doniak (Colaprico 71’), M McCaskill, M Shaw (Ali 90’+1’), F Bennett (Jakobsson 60’), F Carusa (Morgan 46’)

Subs not used: GK Beall, GK Messner, F Ali, D Enge, M Barcenas 

NJ/NY Gotham FC: GK Miller, D O’Hara (Stevens 85’), D Davidson, D Bruninha, D Martin, M Ryan (Sonnett 66’), M Lopez (Bell 85’), M Sheehan, F González, F Stengel (Dunn 66’), F Purce (Nighswonger 76’)

Subs not used:GK Betos, D Freeman, D Hiatt, M Torres

Stats Summary: NJ / SD
Shots: 12 / 7
Shots on Target: 2 / 3
Saves: 2 / 2
Corners: 3 / 3
Fouls: 16 / 10
Offsides: 2 / 1
Possession: 47.2% / 52.8%