Girlfriend and I opened a box of NWSL Donruss Optic the other day and only had one single Wave player but last night we opened packs of the Donruss flagship product and had a bunch of really fun hits including these two gorgeous cards. Nowhere else for me to really show off. Has me even more excited for the last home regular season game this weekend and the playoffs!

San Diego Wave FC return home Sunday looking to build on their recent success and stay within reach of first-place Gotham FC as it faces a physical Boston Legacy side fighting to climb the standings.

Only three teams are still in the hunt for the Shield: Gotham, Wave and Spirit. Here is each team's path to winning it.

Crazy according to this chart wave attendance is down 10% from last year when the team is playing better

One thing wife and I have been doing is they’ll let you exchange up to 3 season ticket games for games later in the season

So we’ll exchange the ones we can’t attend and invite friends with the extra tickets. Doesn’t help with attendance but helps with exposure anyway

Some teams don’t let you do that type of exchange so it’s nice to have that option

Missed the live game because of work and have been waiting very patiently for it to appear online and I haven't seen it. Been looking forward to it all week!

Sheridan beaten home and away with sequences. 😁

1. Barcenas! Another absolute banger. She must practice those mid-range shots a ton with both feet. Her improvement has been tremendous. I’d love for Ascanio to do the same.

2. A short drought is over for Byars. One of the things I love about her is that she has different gears and runs just fast enough, which makes it hard to defend her. She ran past the defender and then got between the defender and the goal so that she didn’t need to rush. Ice cold composure.

3. Except for several holy sh-t moments, we played like champions. Luck was on our side too.

4. I’ve been impressed with Bonansea’s ability and willingness to do whatever the team needs in the moment, even getting dirty for defense.

5. Mimi made two awful errors and we paid for one. But everyone makes mistakes. My biggest problem tonight was her choosing to cross to Fazer, who has never scored, with 30 sec left in the game. We could have easily held the ball for the win, but her decision gave NC one more possession. I hope she gets coached.

6. Dali is an asset, I know, but she’s also a defensive liability. The way she retreats without closing the distance even though the back line is set behind her. This team has been very good at fixing tactical errors, and I’m surprised this has not been fixed.

7. This team’s grit. The will to win is peaking. Love it. The only exception is Fazer. The team needed her to run with her fresh legs and do the dirty work in the MF, but nope. I would not be surprised if her contract isn’t renewed.

8. I’ve been overall impressed with the bench’s choice and timing of substitutions lately, but I think they made a mistake today. They used up all the MF subs before subbing Corley even though we know Corley doesn’t last 90, so they had to put Courtnall in and send Moroni up. I don’t think this was planned??

9. Ok that’s too much negativity but hey, five in a row, for the second time this season!! I seriously think we are now the favorite to win the Shield given how NY looked today. Love this team. Go Wave!

Excited for today's game and want to know more about a player? Kristen McNabb is the only player left from the San Diego Wave’s first roster. She’s also a crochet-carrying, dog-loving defender whose most important work happens 30 seconds before anyone notices it.

Courage 1 - 2 San Diego Wave

⚽ Courage: V. Bøe Risa 83' ⚽ San Diego Wave: M. Barcenas 4', T. Byars 52' 🏁 San Diego Wave win

✅ Full Time

Form

• Courage: W L L L W L
• San Diego Wave: W W W W L W

Lineups

Courage (4-3-3) — San Diego Wave (4-3-3)

Starting XI

Subs

Changes from last match

• Courage: unchanged
• San Diego Wave: unchanged

Match Statistics

Match Events

Updated: Sat, Oct 17, 9:03 PM EDT

Match Thread Bot by u/Several_Region_3710 | GitHub (view code, contribute, or report issues) | ☕ Ko-fi (support the project) | Half Space (match analysis)

Why am I so worried today? I love that we had so many call ups and that they did so well on the US side (brace from Mel, a goal each game from Gia, etc.) however fear the impact of extra mileage for today’s game. Here’s to our Defense shutting down Sanchez and neutralizing their attack. Let’s get this!

SoccerwiseHQ has a full show with Becki Tweed on the success of the Wave. You can listen to their podcast or watch on their YouTube channel.

https://youtu.be/2ewgutfgl_g?is=4Sht-uG4WQqVO_T9

With all the recent talk about where a new stadium should be built (Del Mar, etc), how do you get to the game? If you combine driving and the trolley, please select Trolley. The goal of this poll is to track how many people use transit vs. driving, and to see a general time it takes everyone to get there.

San Diego Wave FC returns from the international break Saturday looking to extend its strong run against a North Carolina Courage team fighting to hold onto the final playoff spot.

I really like this idea, I know it's a lot further north than snapdragon but the wave deserve their own stadium!

After Gotham loses defender during international play I have a ton of anxiety watching Wesley play the full game against Spain both friendlies. I wish she’d get subbed out lol

Good news is she is locking up the best forwards in the world like we knew she could. Glad she’s finally getting her moment on stage

If Wesley gets the start, I hope it is for Saturday's game against Spain (Maybe Rudd will be in Tuesday's game). I would hate for Wesley to have to play a full 90 on Tuesday and then play against the Courage on Friday. What do you think?

https://sandiegowavefc.com/26playoffs

If Wesley gets the start, I hope it is for Saturday's game against Spain (Maybe Rudd will be in Tuesday's game). I would hate for Wesley to have to play a full 90 on Tuesday and then play against the Courage on Friday. What do you think?

Now that my (our) beloved Padres have been eliminated, I hope many others will join me in supporting our San Diego Wave ⚽️ who have already clinched a playoff spot and have a very legitimate chance of winning the league title!Go Wave!

Read more about how the rest of The Wave's season is shaping up heading into playoffs!