SAN DIEGO -- The Sunday Military Appreciation Night match between San Diego Wave FC and the Washington Spirit saw the team from the country’s capital visit a 23,541 attended Snapdragon Stadium as the match finished in a 1-1 draw with both teams taking a point.
Wave FC defender Kristen McNabb had a unique outing vs the Spirit with an own goal in the first half giving Washington the 1-0 lead as she would get the redeeming moment in the second half with an equalizing goal for the Wave.
The Wave has struggled throughout the NWSL season as they came into this game twelfth in the league table, on a 10-game winless streak, and playing a Washington Spirit team that is second in the standings coming off two back-to-back league victories.
As with the squad still having to adapt with the newly appointed interim head coach Landon Donovan, this match had a bad result written all over it for the Wave even before a ball was kicked.
But that wasn’t the case to start this game as the Wave dominated possession and felt like the more dangerous team for the majority of the first half. That was until the 30-minute as Spirit forward Ouleymata Sarr put a low-driven cross into the box where Wave defender Kennedy Wesley met the pass for a clearance as it deflected off her teammate Kristen McNabb and ended up in the back of the net for an own goal.
The own goal stalled the Wave’s momentum for the remainder of the half but they returned in the second half as they started to create more chances.
In the 68-minute, a cross from a corner kick was placed in the box and it fell to McNabb’s feet. In front of the goal being surrounded by Spirit defenders, McNabb got enough on the shot to put it past Spirit keeper Aubrey Kingsbury to get her first goal of the NWSL season and the 1-1 equalizer for the Wave.
MARÍA TO MCNABB MAKES IT 1-1 🌊 pic.twitter.com/32MRMlnmZg
— San Diego Wave FC (@sandiegowavefc) September 2, 2024
The remainder of the match had the two clubs trading set pieces and dangerous attacking moments but none of them resulted in a winning goal as the match concluded 1-1.
The match's result didn’t move the Wave from their 12-place league standing (3-8-7), but interim head coach Landon Donovan spoke about how he was pleased with the match performance and the progress his team is making.
“I am unbelievably proud of how far they've come,” Donovan said during the post-game press conference. “That's a really good group of players they've played against.”
“I really wanted them to win the game, they deserve it now and it's unfortunate the way we conceded the goal but I'm really happy with where the groups are at,” Donovan said.
The Wave returns on Sept. 8 as they face the North Carolina Courage at Snapdragon at 5 p.m. in an NWSL matchup. Their most recent facing was last NWSL season as the Wave visited Courage’s WakeMed Soccer Park and the game ended in a 0-0 draw.