By the standards of women’s professional soccer, gold has been unearthed in east Mission Valley since Jill Ellis and Ron Burkle founded the Wave and moved them into San Diego State’s new stadium. The Wave’s announced crowd of 32,066 last week stood as the largest for a home opener in the 12-year-old National Women’s Soccer League, punctuating the franchise’s sale for a record $112 million days earlier.
She added: “We have to build belief and confidence because, yeah, the result didn’t go our way. But, it wasn’t a terrible performance.” The Wave got an early goal from forward Sofia Jakobsson, completing a sequence that began with newcomer Savannah McCaskill's corner kick and was furthered by Alex Morgan's shot on goal. League MVP candidate Naomi Girma turned in another smooth match while working alongside Abby Dahlkemper in a pairing of standout central defenders.