While the attention of soccer fans worldwide is on the Paris Olympics, the San Diego Wave are competing in an international competition of their own.
The Wave will take on Angel City FC on Thursday night in the final group-stage match of the inaugural NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup. The game starts at 7 p.m. from Titan Stadium in Fullerton and will air live on CBS Sports Network and Paramout+.
Thursday’s match will come with an asterisk the size of a soccer ball. San Diego is without five players, all of whom are playing at the Olympics; a sixth Olympan, ’s Delphine Cascarino, is scheduled to make her Wave debut following the Games. Angel City’s Ali Riley is representing New Zealand in Paris. The Wave are installing a new, attacking style of play under interim coach Paul Buckle.
Plus, the results of the Summer Cup do not count toward the NWSL standings.
“I think it’s always good to get games,” Wave defender Christen Westphal told reporters this week. “I think when it comes to the situation our team is in with a lot of change, it allows us to have more chances to grow and games to play and (that will) help us adjust and learn.”
The Wave are 1-1 in Group B pool play, having beaten Bay FC on July 20 before falling to Club America on Friday. Angel City has played the same two teams, going 2-0. The four teams with the most points following the group stage advance to the semifinals, which will be played Tuesday in Kansas City. The championship match is scheduled for Oct. 25 — nearly three months later — in San Antonio.
Angel City is one of just two teams in the 20-team tournament to win their first two matches. The Wave is one of 12 teams with three points.
For San Diego, Wednesday’s match represents a chance to take the lead in a regional rivalry that is dead even. In nine matches dating back to the Wave’s first season in 2022, San Diego is 3-3-3 against Angel City. The teams last met May 23 in Los Angeles, with the teams playing to a scoreless draw.
The Wave resume NWSL play on Aug. 24 against — of course — Angel City.
