San Diego Wave secure 2-0 win against KC Current
Kenza Dali smiles after sealing the victory with her cross on the Wave’s second goal of the night in a 2-0 victory against the Kansas City Current. (Emmanuel Alonso/Sandiego.futbol)
San Diego Wave beat the Kansas City Current 2-0 at home for their third-straight win at home in front of an announced crowd of 10,761. The win keeps the Wave in the top four of the NWSL table, and put San Diego into second place with 45 points on Friday night.
“From now on [every match] is a final for us, and we need to treat it like this and to be ruthless. I think tonight we did that,” said Wave co-captain Kenza Dali. “I’m really proud of how the team competed with bravery against a really tough team, and that’s how we’re going to be for the rest of the season if you want to win something.”
The Current entered the match unbeaten in their last four matches and countered San Diego’s dominating possession with a strong press, and organized defense.
The Wave held the ball 65% of the time in the first half, but shot the ball one time less than the Current. The two sides also held a nearly identical expected goal differential around 0.61 at the end of the first half.
On a defensive end San Diego remained compact and kept Temwa Chawinga from breaking the match with her amazing play in the attack.
The attention we pay to [what] we call our rest defense, where in the back and the holding part of the midfield we’re always prepared for the ‘what if’ scenarios,” said Wave captain Kennedy Wesley. “We were balanced and positioned really well to eliminate a lot of the running spaces that she likes to have against most teams…
“If [the Current] do get into those transition moments, it;s a job of everyone to get back and spread. There were times where she would take off with the ball, and we had three plus players around her, so it truly was a team effort.”
San Diego took the lead just five minutes after the start of the first half with dynamic play by two of their teenage stars.
Kimmi Ascanio had the ball inside the penalty area in the right channel and was contained by the Current defense, but found Melanie Barcenas open. The 18-year-old star controlled the ball and sent a great cross in toward Gia Corley who was crashing the far post while being defended by Laney Rouse. The pass only needed a touch to find the back of the net, and it went off Rouse’s thigh to make it a 1-0 game in favor of the Wave.
The game remained open with chances going back and forth for both sides in a very transitional showdown, but the Wave sealed the victory thanks to a foul drawn by one of their substitutes on the left wing.
Gabi Portilho got the ball down the left side and ran toward the penalty area drawing a foul from Rouse just outside the penalty area. The referee blew the whistle and called a penalty, but after a VAR review the referee determined the foul was outside the box. However, the reversal didn’t matter as Kenza Dali took the free kick and sent a wicked cross at the goal.
Dali said after the match she got a message to Kennedy Wesley to stand in that exact position because of an open space left by the goalkeeper. Wesley managed to head the ball slightly for the goal for the final score of 2-0.
The Wave have five matches left of the NWSL regular season, and only one more home match to close out the year. Their next three matches will be on the road before returning to Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday, October 25, against the Boston Legacy.
