Big weekend for both the San Diego Wave Fútbol Club and the National Women’s Soccer League, as the team’s debut in new home Snapdragon Stadium drew 32,000 fans and set a new NWSL attendance record.
It also marked the beginning of a very potent rivalry with fellow SoCal NWSL expansion team, Angel City FC. Angel City currently sits atop the NWSL attendance rankings, and with the large crowd SD Wave FC is now third, with the SoCal teams sandwiching Portland Thorns FC. The Wave prevailed on the pitch, 1-0, and sits atop the NWSL standings. Nice team-supplied quote from Casey Stoney, San Diego Wave FC Head Coach:
It feels incredible to win for our fans, and as someone who has been involved in this game for 30 years, I’ve waited for this moment. To be able to do this without another crest, like in England how we rely on Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool to gain big crowds, but this is San Diego Wave, eight months into existence and to pull a crowd like this, it just shows what San Diego is as a community, and we want to keep them coming back because the potential for this team and community to keep growing is huge. This was such a momentous occasion for women’s soccer and I’m just so pleased to be a part of it.
Snapdragon Stadium opened this fall as home to the San Diego State University football program. It was also designed to host professional soccer, configured to work both for NCAA football and professional soccer.
Photos courtesy San Diego Wave FC.