San Diego Wave wins 3-2 in home opener against Utah Royals

San Diego Wave supporters cheer ahead of their game against the Utah Royals at Snapdragon Stadium on Sat. March 22, 2025.
Photo: Nate Tubbs/Prost International

The San Diego Wave (1-1-0, 4 points) defeated the Utah Royals (0-1-1, 1 point) 3-2 at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday night. This was the first home game and win of the season for the Wave.

The Wave scored two goals in the first half, with the first coming early. Forward María Sánchez scored a goal following an assist from midfielder Gia Corley in the seventh minute.

Gia Corley, second to the right, watches her shot roll past SD Wave keeper Kailen Sheridan during pregame warmups at Snapdragon Stadium on Sat. March 22, 2025.
Photo: Nate Tubbs/Prost International

Corley, who had scored in the Wave’s previous game against Angel City FC, initially seemed trapped in the corner with a defender right on her back as the ball was going out of bounds. She dribbled around the defender and passed the ball to Sánchez, assisting Sánchez in her first goal of the season and the first goal in Snapdragon Stadium in the 2025 NWLS season.

After several good, but unsuccessful attempts for San Diego, forward Adriana Leon scored a goal at the 37 minute mark, marking San Diego’s second goal of the first half. Forward Delphine Cascarino displayed her dribbling skills throughout the game and took advantage of a one-on-one matchup on the right side. She dribbled past her defender and passed the ball to Leon.

Wave forward Adriana Leon claps after their win against the Utah Royals at Snapdragon Stadium on Sat. March 22, 2025.
Photo: Nate Tubbs/Prost International

Utah struggled against San Diego’s defense in the first half. San Diego dominated possession and forced weak attempts out of the Royals’ attack. The Wave entered the half with a comfortable two goal lead.

“The first half, was all in all, a performance that I was very pleased with,” Wave head coach Jonas Eidevall said. “I think we were patient and controlled…and we played the ball forward at the right moments.”

The second half turned into a different story.

At the 61st minute mark, the Royals got on the board with a free kick from midfielder Claudia Zornoza, reducing the deficit to 2-1. At the 72nd minute mark, forward Mina Tinaka scored another goal for the Royals after Wave goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan failed to dive on the ball, tying up the game.

“They didn’t change so much tactially, but they changed the intensity that they do things with which was something we expected,” Eidevall said. “We’re not very good in the second half with handling that. We were a little bit too slow to take our positions.”

Just when momentum began to swing in the Royals’ direction, a grave mistake was made by goalkeeper Amanda McGlynn.

Wave players embrace after Gia Corley’s late goal to give them the lead at Snapdragon Stadium on Sat. March 22, 2025.
Photo: Nate Tubbs/Prost International

McGlynn failed to kick the ball into one of her teammates, and Gia Corley took full advantage. Corley stole the ball and immediately shot an attempt for a goal and scored. It was Gorley’s second goal of the season and her second consecutive game of scoring the ball. The Wave went on to close the game and secured a win in their first home game of the season.

“It’s nice and [a] positive that we managed to find a way to win,” Eidevall said. “I think that’s a credit to the team’s mentality that when we can see the second goal, we don’t let that collapse [our team].”

San Diego improves to one win and one draw on the season and take on the fifth-ranked Orlando Pride on Sat. March 29 at 9:00 a.m. PT at Inter&Co Stadium.