September 3rd saw the San Diego Wave win 1-0 against the Houston Dash, a result that catapulted the team to the top of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) table with 30 points.
This win was thanks to a goal scored by 18 year old Jaedyn Shaw which marked her fifth of the season.
A massive win for this @sandiegowavefc team. Props to the gaffer for the night @LouisHunt17. Thank you San Diego fans for turning up loud & proud as always. We need you & we appreciate you. LFG 🌊 pic.twitter.com/yiLYX9XRTM — Casey Stoney MBE 💙 (@CaseyStoney) September 4, 2023
Irish World Cup national team member Kyra Carusa - who has been with the club since 2023 - has played a pivotal role in contributing to this current standing.
Born in San Diego herself, Carusa had been the object of interest from the club in the offseason. Head Coach Casey Stoney previously spoke about their interest in the Irish team player: “She will bring healthy competition to our forward group and provide the team with much-needed depth for the rest of the season. She’s just coming back from the World Cup and eager to make a difference to help her hometown make a run deep into the playoffs.”
Stoney’s words proved to be true and on August 26, Carusa scored her first NWSL goal in a match against Orlando pride bringing the overall score to 2-1.
Following her win against Orlando, in a post-match interview she stated, “It’s everything, I've been embraced into this program immediately and I think that goes to show in terms of a player in the environment, what we’re doing here in San Diego, what a ruthless program we have.”
After a World Cup appearance with Ireland and having previously played outside of the United States at teams such as the London City Lionesses and Le Havre AC, it seems that Carusa’s future in her hometown of San Diego remains bright.
