Portland Thorns in San Diego’s Side 1-0; Interim Wave Coach: ‘Keep Believing’

Despite seven saves by goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, the San Diego Wave fell 1-0 Friday night to host Portland Thorns.

The Wave’s (3-7-6, 15 points) last win was May 8. It is the second loss under interim coach Paul Buckle. The team is in 10th place in the NWSL standings.

“I’m absolutely gutted for the players, for the staff, and our fans because we’ve got nothing for our troubles in the last two games and we’ve put an awful lot of effort in in both games we’ve created chances,” said Buckle, who took over for fired coach Casey Stoney.

“We have to keep believing because they’re doing so many things right.”

San Diego started off strong at Providence Park, producing several chances in the first half. The most promising opportunity came in the 38th minute.

A cross from midfielder Makenzy Doniak fell to the back post to a sliding María Sánchez. The Mexican international redirected the ball to Alex Morgan and she sent a shot into the back of the net. However, the goal was called offside and the game remained scoreless.

In the 72nd minute, Sheridan found herself one-on-one with Janine Beckie just six yards out from the goal. The Canadian goalkeeper came out and made a kick save to keep the match level.

Nearly 10 minutes later, midfielder Savannah McCaskill played a ball over the top to second-half substitute Melanie Barcenas. The 16-year-old San Diego native took a touch and hit a volley that required Portland goalkeeper Shelby Hogan to make a point-blank save.

Portland broke the deadlock in the 85th minute.

After winning the ball at the halfline, Portland’s Janine Beckie received a ball into the box and the Canadian international hit a well-placed cross to Izzy D’Aquila that resulted in three points for the home side.

This game marked the last regular season game played by Wave payers headed for the Olympians.

Naomi Girma (USA), Jaedyn Shaw (USA), Kailen Sheridan (CAN), Kaitlyn Torpey (AUS) and Emily van Egmond (AUS), all head to their respective countries’ training camps before heading to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Wave returns to face Bay FC on Saturday, July 20, at Torero Stadium for the first game of the inaugural NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup.

The match will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+ with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.