Saturday, August 9, at 7:00 p.m., Angel City Football Club is back on the road to take on their SoCal rivals, San Diego Wave FC. The game will stream live on ION, with an English-language radio broadcast on iHeart. Angel City will host a watch party at Dog Haus Biergarten in North Burbank.
Matchup
Angel City’s last regular-season game was a 0–2 loss on the road to Seattle Reign. Midfielder Jess Fishlock both notched the opener and forced the Angel City own goal that closed out the scoring.
San Diego’s most recent match was a scoreless draw away at North Carolina.
ACFC last faced the Wave in the 2025 season opener on March 16, recording a 1–1 draw at home. They are 3–2–2 (W–L–D) all-time against San Diego.
LA are currently in 11th place with a 4–7–3 record. The Wave are in fourth sixth at 7–3–4.
Scouting Report
A major factor in San Diego’s return to form this season has been French international Delphine Cascarino, who signed with the club midway through 2024 and has been making a major impact for ACFC’s rival to the south.
Cascarino is the league co-leader for assists, with five; she recorded her first in the fifth minute of the season opener against Angel City, setting up midfielder Gia Corley with a low cross from the edge of the box. The play exemplified the speed, one-on-one skill, and crossing accuracy that make Cascarino so dangerous.
Another key piece of the Wave offense is Cascarino’s fellow France international, Kenza Dali. The 34-year-old often serves as the starting point of the team’s attack, finding Cascarino or another winger in a wide area to allow them to assist a teammate, and has two assists of her own on the season. Both Cascarino and Dali are also scorers, with three and two goals, respectively.
After losing one of the best central defenders in the world, Naomi Girma, to Chelsea in the offseason, San Diego had big shoes to fill on the back line. The club brought in 17-year-old Trinity Armstrong, then a freshman at the University of North Carolina, in January, and the youngster has risen to the challenge, helping limit the team to 16 goals conceded.
Midseason Playoff Picture
With just under half the season remaining, Angel City is within easy reach of the eight-team playoffs. Just four points—a win and a draw—separate them from eighth-place Gotham, with Louisville and Portland one and three points ahead of them, in turn.
A result against San Diego could mean a boost of momentum heading into the back half of the season—and Angel City has won two out of three meetings with their SoCal rivals on the road.
Return of the Cap
Defender Ali Riley was removed from ACFC’s season-ending injury list in late July, after being sidelined due to a chronic and persistent leg injury midway through the 2024 NWSL Regular Season.
The Los Angeles native has served as ACFC’s team captain since the inaugural 2022 season and has 54 appearances across all competitions for the club. During her tenure, she has scored three goals and three assists, including her first career NWSL regular season goal against the Wave on July 9, 2022, helping the club to a 2–1 home victory.
A legend of the New Zealand Women’s National Team with 163 career caps, Riley’s most recent major tournament with the Football Ferns was the 2023 Women’s World Cup. She also helped her team qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
