In her home debut and first start with the San Diego Wave, Canadian international Adriana Leon notched her first goal Saturday as the Wave defeated the winless Utah Royals 3-2 at Snapdragon Stadium.
Teammate Gia Corley tallied her second goal and first assist of the season, and Maria Sánchez scored her first of the year for San Diego (1-0-1, 4 points).
San Diego opened the scoring when Corley outworked her defender on the end line and made her way into the 18-yard box where she found an ongoing Sánchez, who extended her leg and poked it past goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn.
The Wave doubled the score in the 37th minute. Corley would split her defenders at midfield to forward Delphine Casarino. The French international went at speed down the length of the field and passed it to Leon, who tapped it into the back of the net.
Cascarino assisted her second goal of the 2025 NWSL season, more than any other player in the league. The French international has contributed to five goals in her last four matches (one goal, four assists).
Midfielder Sánchez scored her first goal of the 2025 season and second of her Wave career.
Utah (0-1-1, 1 point) responded in the second half with two straight goals.
In the 61st minute, Claudia Zornoza hit a perfectly placed free kick to the near post and the Royals would level the match in the 72nd minute when Mina Tanaka slotted the ball past a diving Kailen Sheridan.
Just two minutes later, San Diego was able to secure the win when Corley was first to react to a goal kick by McGlynn. Corley intercepted the ball at the top of the box and struck a line drive shot that deflected off a Utah defender and into the back of the net to grab the first win of the season for the Club.
San Diego started the 2025 season with 12 new signings.
The Wave’s 2025 roster features top international talent from Canada (Kailen Sheridan, Adriana Leon), France (Delphine Cascarino, Kenza Dali, Perle Morroni), Nigeria (Chiamaka Okwuchukwu, Favour Emmanuel), Mexico (María Sánchez), Sweden (Hanna Lundkvist), Ireland (Kyra Carusa) and Germany (Gia Corley), as well as rising young stars, including three teenagers from the U.S. U-20 National team (Melanie Barcenas, Trinity Armstrong, and Kimmi Ascanio).
The Wave’s starting 11 features eight players who represent countries other than the United States (tied for first in league history). San Diego also sets the record for the most European (six) and French (three) starters in league history.
San Diego travels to Florida to face the Orlando Pride at 9 a.m. Pacific Saturday, March 29, at Inter&Co Stadium. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN and streamed via ESPN+.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
