Before the San Diego Wave FC match even began, the event felt like a celebration of women’s soccer, a celebration of San Diego sports. An announced sellout crowd of 32,000 fans, an NWSL record, packed Snapdragon stadium and watched San Diego beat rivals and fellow expansion club Angel City FC 1-0.

“Thirty years I’ve waited for this moment and so many years as a player and this club to be able to do this and not rely on another crest,” Head Coach Casey Stoney said of the historic match. “This is San Diego Wave eight months into existence and to pull a crowd like this, it just shows what San Diego is as a community.”

The match itself for San Diego Wave was not the best performance according to Stoney and players yet still managed to come away with the result they had hoped for.

“Sometimes you gotta win ugly and we won ugly today,” Stoney said of the match.

The first 15 minutes of the match were dominated by San Diego creating many scoring opportunities and not allowing Angel City FC a shot on goal until the 14th minute of the match.

It wasn’t until the 30th minute when the sold-out crowd exploded for a goal by the 17-year-old Jaedyn Shaw in her first home start.

The chance began after a great move by Alex Morgan sending a no-look pass to Taylor Kornieck who moved it up the field passing it away before getting it back creating space for Kornieck to Sofia Jakobson far outside the box sending it back in the box towards a group of Angel City defenders and the lone Shaw who headed it to the far side of the box for the goal.

Angel City came back with some chances immediately following the goal in the next five minutes including in the 34th minute when Angel City’s Jun Endo sent a laser from outside the box that was saved by goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.

However that was not Sheridan’s only moment. Snapdragon Stadium had its loudest moment in its young history in the 74th minute of the match.

It started with San Diego defender Khristen Westphal tackled Claire Emslie inside the box tripping her while not catching the ball at all resulting in a penalty kick for Angel City. Savannah McCaskill, who leads Angel City FC in goals, took the penalty kick.

The shot was sent right but saved by goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan deflecting away before another shot came her direction that she smothered.

Sheridan leads the league in penalty saves and has led San Diego to a league-best eight clean sheets.

Stoney, later asked if she feels nervous for a penalty kick against Sheridan, shook her head no.

“She’s the worlds best for me. I have played with so many goalkeepers over the years and they could either keep the ball out of the net or they are incredible with their feet. Very rarely do you get both in a female goalkeeper,” Stoney said.

Following the save and the majority of the second half San Diego did not create many offensive chances but still managed to hold a strong defensive line preventing Angel City to get any clear targets on goal resulting in a final score of 1-0 in Snapdragon Stadium’s first professional soccer match.

“It was such a beautiful moment, to see soccer in California not exist before this season for many years, to see San Diego embracing us as a women’s professional soccer team so quickly in the way that they did it was just a great moment,” forward Alex Morgan said.

San Diego will play again next week on Sunday, Sep. 25, against Orlando Pride, a team barely holding on to playoff hopes. They will return home to Snapdragon stadium for their final match of the regular season taking on North Carolina Courage.

“This was such a momentous occasion for women’s soccer and I’m just so pleased that I was able to be a part of it,” Stoney said.