San Diego Wave opens with Challenge Cup vs. Gotham FC 

San Diego Wave FC will take on NWSL defending champion Gotham FC for the Challenge Cup trophy on March 15 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.

San Diego is the defending Supporters’ Shield winner after finishing last season as the top seed and with the best record overall. As for Gotham FC, it finished with the sixth and final seed by eking out the Orlando Pride before going on a post-season run that included beating the second-seeded Portland Thorns in the semifinals and fourth-seeded OL Reign (now Seattle Reign) in the championship.

San Diego has re-signed many key players during the off-season including defender Christen Westphal and midfielder Makenzy Doniak along with acquiring the services of two experienced veterans in forward Elyse Bennett and Savannah McCaskill. The team, led by head coach Casey Stoney, will also have the services of defender Kennedy Wesley and forward Mya Jones who were drafted in the first and third round of the most recent NWSL draft. The Wave will no longer have the service of midfielder Taylor Kornieck, who was recently traded to Louisville.

“We have to keep improving,” said Stoney. “We’ve had two good years, but we want to be consistently at the top and win a championship.”

Gotham FC comes into 2024 as the favorites to repeat as champions after recently signing forward Rose Lavelle along with midfielders Emily Sonnett and Crystal Dunn.

The reformatted Challenge Cup will mark the first time a winner of the Supporters’ Shield and the reigning champion will begin the season facing off in a single-match showdown. Last year’s Challenge Cup was won by the North Carolina Courage after defeating the Kansas City Current in the semifinals and Racing Louisville in the final.

San Diego is undefeated versus Gotham FC in their four meetings outscoring the NWSL champion 10-1 during that span including a 4-0 drubbing at Snapdragon Stadium on May 7, 2022, with all four goals coming from forward Alex Morgan.

Photo by David Frerker