Alyssa Thompson's brace lifts Angel City FC over rival San Diego Wave FC

Alyssa Thompson’s two goals lifted Angel City FC over their SoCal rival, San Diego Wave FC, spoiling Landon Donovan’s NWSL debut.

Photo byTammy Ryan/ EVT Sports

Thompson, a 19-year-old forward, climbed the left wing and received the ball following a deflection from a Wave defender. She took a couple of dribbles in front of the goalkeeper, Kailen Sheridan, made a swift move to the left and put the ball into the back of the net in the 20th minute.

Nine minutes later, it was Thompson again making an impact play.

She received a pass midfield and took it herself. She entered the box with three Wave defenders surrounding her — dribbled right and shot straight at Sheridan, deflected off the glove, and rolled in.

Alyssa Thompson said: "I got this one." 😳

What a run and the 19-year-old has a first half brace for @weareangelcity 🔥 pic.twitter.com/bJFWjDO1NP

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) August 24, 2024

“I just feel really good that I got my first two (goals) under my belt, and now I can continue to grow,” Thompson said.

Sheridan is one of the six international Wave players who returned following the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. In her first game back, Los Angeles created some problems offensively. They had 11 total shots throughout the game, and six were on target.

San Diego was without their best defender, Naomi Girma, who had an excused absence.

Girma and Jaedyn Shaw won gold medals with Team USA. Shaw also missed the game with a thigh injury. Sheridan (Canada) and Delphine Cascarino (France) advanced to the quarterfinals. Australians Kaitlyn Torpey and Emily van Egmond did not exit the group stage.

Cascarino was acquired in late July and made her NWSL debut. The French forward replaced Melanie Barcenas in the 62nd minute of the match. Barcenas, 16, made her first NWSL start.

It didn’t take long for Cascarino to make noise in the attacking third. Similar to Thompson’s second goal, she initiated her attack from midfield, executed a quick move as she entered the box, and directed a shot towards the top right.

Angel City's DiDi Haracic made an exceptional save to retain the two-goal lead. While the shot did not connect, Cascarino gave life to the Wave offense in the second half. Landon Donovan said the new signee was limited to 30 minutes.

“At the end of the day, you look a lot better when you have players like her (Cascarino) on the field,” Donovan said.

Another talented forward who didn't start the game was Alex Morgan. Donovan and a couple of Wave players mentioned the challenging week they just had.

Four days ago, San Diego played in Panama City against Santa Fe FC in the Concacaf W Champions Cup group stage. Goals from María Sánchez and Kristen McNabb helped secure the three points.

Landon Donovan after his first NWSL league match in charge of the San Diego Wave.@EVT_News pic.twitter.com/h24IPA0KWF

— Francisco Velasco (@FranciscoEfV) August 24, 2024

Donovan said multiple times that he is proud of his team. He understands the challenge of traveling long distances and playing two games in a short period.

He also mentioned Morgan did not start because they need her down the stretch of the season. Morgan was subbed in to start the second half

In the final minute of added time, the Wave lined up for a free-kick outside the box. Sánchez centered the ball, and defender Abby Dahlkemper was in the perfect spot for a header goal.

“Just saw a really good opening, and the ball straight to where I ran,” Dahlkemper said. “All credit to María, it just kind of bonked off my head.”

Entering the afternoon, both teams had 15 points. With the 2-1 victory, Angel City received three points. San Diego now sits at 11th place.

“Judge the performance, not the result,” Donovan said, a phrase he used multiple times during his tenure with the San Diego Loyal. “The problem is we need results now because of the point of the season we are in. It hurts to not get anything (points) out of the game, but there is so much they are going to learn.”

With nine NWSL games remaining, Donovan is now tasked with leading San Diego back to the playoffs. The Wave has experienced several changes since winning the NWSL shield last season.

“Ultimately, it has been a hard year for us,” Dahlkemper said. “We’re trying to do the best we can and stick together. There’s been a lot of change.”

San Diego named former United States men's soccer legend their interim head coach on August 16. Donovan replaced Paul Buckle, who took over in late June following Casey Stoney's departure from the club.

The Wave will host Washington Spirit in their next NWSL match on September 1.