San Diego: Soccer Mecca.
It's hard to argue against that title after a fabulous Saturday night that will go down in history as one of the greatest nights on the pitch this town will ever see.
San Diego Wave FC played their first match at Snapdragon Stadium in front of 32,000 fans, destroying the previous National Women's Soccer League single-game attendance record by nearly 7,000. It didn't feel like a regular season match. It felt like an EVENT.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
And the home team put on one heck of a show, beating Angel City FC 1-0. Jaedyn Shaw, the 17-year-old phenom, scored the only goal of the night on a beautiful header. It's her 3rd goal in three matches and oh yeah did I mention SHE'S 17 YEARS OLD. Angel City's best chance to find the equalizer came in the 2nd half.
A foul in the box gave Savannah McKaskill a penalty kick. Kailen Sheridan was not going let her team lose on a night like this. The goalie made an acrobatic save from point-blank range, setting the crowd into a frenzy and securing a win on this historic night. With two matches left the Wave have nearly clinched a playoff berth in their inaugural season, and are still in play to earn the top overall seed (which would mean post-season games in this rowdy venue).
They would join San Diego Loyal SC in the post-season. The Loyal shut out Phoenix Rising FC 3-0 at Torero Stadium, officially clinching a playoff berth for the second straight year.
Local
After a scoreless first half the goal scoring avalanche commenced. Evan Conway, Kyle Vassell, and Jackson Kasanze all found the net in a 23 minute span to put Phoenix away. The Loyal have four matches left and, just like the Wave, have a chance to earn the top seed in the USL Championship's Western Conference playoffs.
One night. Two unforgettable performances. And the best is yet to come.
