San Diego Wave FC secured the No. 2 seed in the NWSL Playoffs, presented by Google Pixel, and will host No. 7 seed Utah Royals FC in the quarterfinal on Friday, Nov. 6, at Snapdragon Stadium. The match will be broadcast live on Prime Video. Tickets are available HERE.
San Diego won both regular-season meetings against Utah in 2026, beginning with a 2-1 road victory on March 22, the Wave’s first win of the season. Rookie midfielder Lia Godfrey scored her first professional goal in the XX minute to help secure the result. The teams met again on August 21 at Snapdragon Stadium, where San Diego earned a 4-2 victory. Trinity Byars contributed to all four goals, recording two goals and two assists. Across all NWSL competitions, the Wave hold a perfect 6-0 record against Utah, making the Royals the only NWSL team San Diego has defeated in every meeting.
The Wave are entering the postseason having won eight of their last 10 matches (D1, L1) and are unbeaten in their last seven (W6, D1), marking the longest unbeaten run across all competitions in Club history. San Diego averaged 1.93 points per match during the 2026 regular season, its highest mark in Club history and well above the 1.68 average from its 2023 NWSL Shield-winning campaign.
Last Time Out:
San Diego heads into Friday’s quarterfinal following a 1-0 victory over Bay FC on Nov. 1 at PayPal Park, securing the No. 2 seed in the NWSL Playoffs. Mimi Van Zanten scored the match’s lone goal in the ninth minute, receiving a pass from Kenza Dali before finishing into the top-left corner. The Wave maintained their advantage for the remainder of the match, while goalkeeper Sandra Paños made four saves to record her fourth shutout of the season. The result extended San Diego’s unbeaten streak to seven matches, including six victories, as the Club closed out the regular season with 58 points.
Utah enters its first-ever NWSL Playoffs after setting Club records in 2026 for points per match (1.57), winning percentage (46.7%) and goals per match (1.47). The Royals are coming off a 2-0 loss to Gotham FC on Nov. 1 at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Gotham, which secured the 2026 NWSL Shield, opened the scoring in the ninth minute through Guro Reiten before Jaedyn Shaw added a second in the 80th minute off an assist from Midge Purce.
Players to Watch:
Melanie Barcenas enjoyed a breakout season as one of the NWSL’s top young attacking players, finishing the 2026 regular season with seven goals. The 19-year-old forward set a new NWSL single-season record for goals by a teenager, surpassing the previous record of six shared by Sam Kerr, Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman, Jaedyn Shaw and Emeri Adames. Barcenas also recorded two game-winning goals this season and will look to carry that momentum into the postseason as San Diego begins its playoff run.
Cloé Lacasse recorded a Club-record 18 goal contributions (eight goals, 10 assists) for Utah this season, with her 10 assists tying for the second-most in a single NWSL season. Lacasse assisted goals for eight different teammates, setting a new NWSL single-season record for the most different goal scorers assisted by one player.
