San Diego Wave FC wrapped up its 2026 home schedule with a 2-2 draw against Boston Legacy FC on Sunday evening at Snapdragon Stadium and in the process set up a chance to seal the best regular season record in the league next Sunday.
Both San Diego and Boston scored twice in the second half after failing to register any goals during the initial 45 minutes.
The Legacy took the game’s initial lead a little over two minutes into the second half, when defensive midfielder Annie Karich connected with a right-footed shot from in front of the goal to make the score 1-0. However, Boston didn’t have the lead for long.
Moments later, during the game’s 51st minute, San Diego struck back. Attacking midfielder Gia Corley scored with a left-footed shot — her fourth goal in her last six games – tying the score at a goal each.
Then, during the 54th minute, Wave FC’s leading scorer, Trinity Byars, appeared to have nailed a right-footed shot to make the score 2-1 in the home team’s favor. However, it was later ruled to have been an own-goal by Legacy defender Lais Araujo and so although the goal stood, Byars didn’t receive credit for it.
The final goal came during the 73rd minute, when Legacy FC midfielder Alba Caño stunned the Snapdragon crowd of 15,701 by nailing a rocket of a right-footed shot on goal to tie the score at 2-2.
Although there were no official goals in the first half, San Diego actually did find the back of the net. During the 35th minute, Leah Godfrey seemingly scored via a right-footed shot from the center of the box to make the game 1-0 in San Diego’s favor, but after video review, Godfrey was ruled to have been slightly offside during the play. Thus, the goal was wiped out and the score was 0-0 after the first 45 minutes.
With the draw, San Diego (17 wins, 4 draws, 8 losses) picked up one point in the NWSL table, giving the club 55 points, three fewer than first-place Gotham FC (17-7-5). If second-place San Diego wins its final match of the regular season on Sunday and Gotham loses, then the Wave will clinch the league’s best regular season record.
However, this is the best record in Wave history, topping the 2023 season when San Diego won 11 matches and lost seven, with four draws, earning the team the NWSL Shield, which goes to the team with the best regular season record.
Back then, there were fewer teams in the league; San Diego played eight more matches this season than it did in 2023.
Boston (9 wins, 6 draws, 14 losses) has 33 points in its debut year as an NWSL franchise. It lost to San Diego twice this season, including the Wave’s 1-0 road victory over the Legacy on April 3.
Next, the Legacy face Angel City FC in Los Angeles on Sunday to wrap up their first season. The Wave also have one more regular season match left, versus Bay FC on Sunday in Northern California.
Both games are part of Decision Day, where all NWSL teams play at the same time on the last day of the regular season. After its match, San Diego will learn who its opponent in the first round of the playoffs will be, as the playoff brackets will be settled.
Notes: Although the opponent is still to be determined, Wave FC is slotted to play its opening round playoff game at home sometime between Nov. 6-8 against a lower-seeded team. Since the men’s pro club, San Diego FC, is scheduled to play its last home match of the season at Snapdragon on Nov. 7, it’s likely that the Wave’s game will be the following day. In that scenario, it would be the third consecutive match that Wave FC has played on a Sunday.
