Angel City drew 1–1 on the road against San Diego Wave FC in their final match of the 2023 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup, following goals by San Diego’s Jaedyn Shaw and Angel City forward Scarlett Camberos.
In the 11th minute, San Diego opened the scoring when forward Jaedyn Shaw pounced on a short pass by Angel City keeper DiDi Haračić. Shaw dribbled into the box and shot from a hard angle, hitting the net just inside the back post.
It didn’t take long for Angel City to answer. In the 16th minute, forward Scarlett Camberos took on Wave defender Christen Westphal on the left wing, beating her around the outside with a quick burst of speed. With runners in the box, she made a left-footed strike that flew across the face of goal and landed in the net.
San Diego had another chance in the 39th minute beginning with defender Abby Dahlkemper sending a cross into the box. Haračić blocked the cross but couldn’t keep hold of it, and the ball fell to the ground. Both teams tried to regain possession in a brief scramble inside the six-yard box, which ended with the ball getting recycled out to Shaw a few yards back in the 18—but Shaw’s attempt sailed over the crossbar.
Early in the second half, Haračić made a series of clutch saves to keep Angel City in the game. In the 53rd minute, Shaw played a through ball in for Makenzy Doniak, whose shot from inside the box Haračić did well to block out over the end line. Haračić saved again when Madison Pogarch got her head on the ensuing corner kick, and a third time on a follow-up attempt by forward Melanie Barcenas.
Angel City had another chance in the 72nd minute when midfielder Dani Weatherholt headed a corner kick by forward Clarisse Le Bihan down to the center of the penalty area, where midfielder Madison Hammond was wide open—but Hammond’s attempt didn’t have enough speed to beat Wave keeper Shae Yañez.
San Diego kept pushing throughout the second half and came close several times, including one play in the 90th minute that saw forward Amirah Ali dribble into the box from the right and lay the ball back to Shaw, whose shot was deflected over the bar for a corner kick.
The draw clinched second place in the Challenge Cup’s West division for Angel City, but eliminated them from the knockout rounds, as at least one other team that placed second in their group—Kansas City, in the Central division—had the better record.
Angel City plays next on Saturday, August 19 on the road against Racing Louisville at 4:30 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on Bally Sports SoCal and stream live on Paramount+.
