Thorns star Sophia Smith makes attempt on goal. Photo by Chris Stone 
Sierra Enge (center) in first professional appearance. Photo by Chris Stone 
Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan warms up. Photo by Chris Stone 
Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan kicks to teammate. Photo by Chris Stone 
Young fans cheer. Photo by Chris Stone 
Jaedyn Shaw’s (center) lead to only score. Photo by Chris Stone 
Kailen Sheridan made nine saves in the match. Photo by Chris Stone 
Sophia Smith (center) slides for the ball. Photo by Chris Stone 
Players vie for a header. Photo by Chris Stone 
Madison Pogarch (center) advances the ball. Photo by Chris Stone 
Naomi Girma (center) sends ball to teammate. 
Kailen Sheridan guards goal as players pass. Photo by Chris Stone 
Fan waves a Wave flag. Photo by Chris Stone 
Rachel Hill (front) had first start with San Diego Wave FC. Photo by Chris Stone 
Member of Siren fan group cheers. Photo by Chris Stone 
Wave player Madison Pogarth and Sophia Smith vie for ball. Photo by Chris Stone 
Young fans cheer. Photo by Chris Stone 
Alex Morgan waves to fans. Photo by Chris Stone
In the first game of the $1 million NWSL Challenge Cup, the San Diego Wave on Wednesday night beat defending league champion Portland Thorns 1-0 at Snapdragon Stadium.
Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan recorded nine saves to earn her first shutout of the season — turning away several attempts by star player Sophia Smith of first-place Portland.
“It’s a great way to come back after a loss on the weekend,” Sheridan said. “Just to have the team bounce back and be resilient is ideal for us. I’m just really proud of the girls who got their first start.”
San Diego standout Alex Morgan didn’t enter until the 79th minute — to the delight of fans.
After a stalemate in the first half, the breakthrough goal would come in the 65th minute courtesy of forward Jaedyn Shaw, who entered the match in the 61st minute.
Reacting quickly off a pass from midfielder Sofia Jakobsson, Shaw took a touch inside the box and struck a well hit shot that deflected off a Thorns defender and found the back of the net.
Wave coach Casey Stoney called herself really proud of the group — and the fact they kept world-class striker Sophia Smith from scoring.
But Stoney — who last week was unhappy about her team playing three matches in a week — continued her criticism of the league schedule.
“Honestly, I don’t agree with a free game right after an international window at all,” she said. “I think it is really poor for the players and it doesn’t give teams time to prep.”
Prize money was doubled to $1 million, but Stoney said timing of the announcement was poor.
“So you give out the schedule and then you give out the prize money and I think they’ve done that to pressure coaches to play certain teams,” Stoney said.
“If you want the Cup to be something that everyone strives to win, don’t stick it in the middle of the week right after an international window and expect coaches to be able to play every player every game.”
She called the prize purse brilliant but doesn’t think the schedule is fair to all teams.
The Wave heads to BMO Stadium in Los Angeles for a regular-season match against rival Angel City FC at 5 p.m. Sunday. The match is live on FOX5 San Diego and streamed on Paramount+.
Notes
- This marked the first year the Challenge tournament has not taken place in the preseason, with the competition stretching to Sept. 9.
- On April 13, NWSL and UKG announced the first-ever $1 million prize pool in U.S. women’s soccer.
- Defender Sierra Enge earned her first professional appearance with a start in tonight’s match. The Cardiff native was drafted by the Wave with the 13th overall pick in the NWSL Draft this season out of Stanford University.
- Midfielder Rachel Hill earned her first career start for the Wave. The free agent signing earned her first appearance (108 total), on Saturday against OL Reign.
Chris Stone contributed to this report.
