San Diego Wave’s opening 2025 NWSL match ends in 1-1 deadlock against Angel City FC

LOS ANGELES -- The San Diego Wave left BMO Stadium in Los Angeles with a 1-1 opening NWSL match draw and an earned point against their Southern California rival Angel City FC on Sunday afternoon. 

Last season, the San Diego Wave finished the 2024 NWSL regular season missing the playoffs, sitting in tenth place in the NWSL standings with 25 points gained in 26 matches played. 

The Wave looked to start their 2025 NWSL campaign off with a bang but their opponent, Angel City FC, had their number in the recent meetings. 

Angel City kept an unbeaten record in their three matches against the San Diego Wave in 2024, winning and drawing in their two NWSL games and a victory on penalties in the group stage of the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup. 

A new-looking San Diego Wave squad in 2025 under their newly appointed head coach Jonas Eidevall. The Swedish manager most recently coached at Arsenal Women Football Club where he won back-to-back FA Women's League Cups.

The Wave only needed five minutes to open up their 2025 NWSL campaign and take the early lead against Angel City.

San Diego Wave forward Delphine Cascarino dribbled down the right wing and pulled back a low-driven cross inside the penalty area as new-to-the-squad midfielder Gia Corley held her run arriving to the ball for a one-touch right-footed finish past diving Angel City’s goalkeeper Angelina Anderson.

Not only did she record the first Wave goal of the season, but Gia Corley scored the first NWSL goal in her NWSL debut, previously playing in the Frauen-Bundesliga in Germany for Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim.

Angel City saw their goal opportunities in the 19-minute squandered by two equalizing saves by Wave goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan. 

Angel City forward Claire Emslie’s volley goal attempt was pushed away from Sheridan's two-handed diving save but wasn't done yet having to save a follow-up shot from an Angel City rebound. 

Sheridan was called on again in the 32-minute as Angel City midfielder Alyssa Thompson had a breakaway one-on-one opportunity and attempted to dribble around Sheridan but had it poked away and cleared out of danger to hold their slim 1-0 lead. 

The first 45-minute period saw San Diego FC dominate the match in possession holding a 63%-37% advantage but only held a one-goal lead into the locker rooms. 

Offensive improvements in the second half for Angel City resulted in a 54-minute leveling goal for Alyssa Thompson.

Thompson received a wide-open slipped-in through ball pass into the attacking right-wing area as she dribbled into the box, created some space from the arriving Wave defenders and placed her right-footed shot across the goal and into the side netting.

Becoming a regular occurrence for Thompson netted her third goal against the San Diego Wave and recorded her first goal of the 2025 NWSL season. 

The match finished at that 1-1 scoreline with the Wave and Angel City sharing the point in their opening matches of the NWSL 2025 season. 

“The plan was come here to win like every single game this season,” Wave midfielder Kenza Dali said on the mentality of the squad. 

"We're going to try to do that,” Dali said. “We're ambitious and we have to be. We tried to play with our identity and I think that's the most difficult things in football. To play away with your game plan and apply it. I think today the girls were amazing, especially the one on my right, she was unbelievable (Delphine Cascarino).”

A tense end-to-end opening match for the Southern California rivals, as the match saw 17 fouls with six yellow cards handed out as both clubs received three yellow card infractions. 

The Wave finished with a 63% to 37% ball possession victory with advantages in total shots and shots on target.

The stats didn't tell the story for Angel City as they had major improvements in the second half with most of their dangerous attacking play coming off the counterattack against San Diego’s high line which ultimately led to Alyssa Thompson's equalizing finish. 

San Diego Wave head coach Jonas Eidevall spoke on the challenges and takeaways of the start of the season at a post-match press conference following his first match in charge of the squad. 

“We've been in a period of a lot of change,” Eidevall said. "For us, it's really important to learn every game and keep a really competitive mindset but still learning. And I think that's what you see a team today also playing. I think we have some high highs, I think we have some low lows."

The Wave hope to earn their first victory of the 2025 NWSL regular season in front of their home fans as they return to Snapdragon Stadium next Saturday for their home opener against Utah Royals FC on March 22 at 7 p.m.