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Alex Morgan Bids Farewell As NWSL Attendances Surpass 1.5 Million

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Alex Morgan Bids Farewell As NWSL Attendances Surpass 1.5 Million


The third-highest crowd of the NWSL season witnessed the last-ever game of Alex Morgan’s career on the day total attendances surpassed 1.5 million for the the first time.

A crowd of 26,516 were at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego to see the United States Women’s National Team legend Morgan play for just 16 minutes of the game against North Carolina Courage until she was substituted on her final appearance before retiring from the professional game.

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Earlier in the day, total attendances for the regular NWSL season had gone past the 1.5 million mark for the first time in the league’s eleven-year history during the match between Chicago Red Stars and Orlando Pride. It is the third successive year in which the league has attracted more than one million spectators.

Last season, 1,424,208 fans watched the 132 regular season matches in the league. This figure was surpassed last Sunday during the game between Angel City and Chicago Red Stars. With seven weeks of an expanded league campaign left to play, it now seems inevitable that the NWSL will record attendances in excess of two million.

In spite of the increased number of games to be played, the 1.5 million mark was broken in the 132nd match of the season – the same total of games played last year. Average attendances are up for the fourth successive season, currently standing at 11,477 per game.

Morgan’s well-publicised farewell swelled the crowd for San Diego’s 1-4 defeat to North Carolina Courage. In her farewell speech she joked that “95” of her friends and family were in attendance. “I know people have come here from Alaska, Massachusetts, Colorado, Florida, all around the country.”

When Morgan played in the first NWSL campaign in 2013, a total of 375,763 attended the 88 regular season games, an average of just 4,270. Her side then, Portland Thorns, had the highest-season average of 13,320, as they would in eight of the first ten years. Now new franchises, like Angel City and San Diego Wave, have surpassed them bolstering the league’s figures.

Despite their lowly league position, The Wave are averaging 20,408 this campaign pulling in four of the the five largest crowds of the year. This has put them on course to become the first NWSL side in history to average over 20,000 in successive seasons.

The largest crowd of the NWSL season was recorded at Wrigley Field when 35,038 saw the visit of Bay FC to Chicago. However this is only one of two matches in this campaign to register among the all-time top ten attendances for the NWSL indicating a more sustained growth of crowds throughout the league. Currently, every club is averaging above 5,000 for the season.

These figures make the NWSL far and away the best supported professional women’s sports league in North America. Crowds in the Mexican Liga MX Feminil averaged at 2,072 in the Apertura and 2,456 in the Clausura.

The Professional Women’s Hockey League in the United States pulled in a total attendance of 392,259 last season averaging 5,448. In 2023, the WNBA averaged 6,615 per match but pulled in a total attendance of 1,587,488 over 212 games. Currently at 1,526,407, this mark will be surpassed by the NWSL next week.

Despite a season of record-breaking attendances in the English Women’s Super League (WSL), the total attendance from the same number of games (132) reached 971,977, an average of 7,363. This marked a 41% increase on the previous season when the total attendance reached 689,297.

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After playing six of their eleven games at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal averaged an attendance of 29,999 over the season. It is a figure they are set to break this season with at least eight matches at the club’s main stadium, pushing the WSL also past the one million mark.



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San Diego, CA

Game 21: San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Angels

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Game 21: San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Angels


San Diego Padres (14-7) at Los Angeles Angels (11-11), April 19, 2026, 1:07 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Angel Stadium – Anaheim, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com

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Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com


— SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.

Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.

RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.

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San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.

Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.

Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.

Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.

Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.

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Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.

Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.

Ferree finished with five saves.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

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How San Diego Has Quietly Emerged as One of America’s Great Dining Destinations

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How San Diego Has Quietly Emerged as One of America’s Great Dining Destinations


When John Resnick opened Campfire on a quaint little street in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2016, some locals weren’t sure what to think. The coastal enclave wasn’t exactly awash in innovative, chef-driven establishments, so it was a shock to see the dining room consistently full. Early on, one woman wondered aloud to Resnick, “Where did all these people come from?”

It’s a moment he remembers vividly. “I was struck by her statement, because I think she was surprised that so many other people in Carlsbad were there,” Resnick says. 

The rest of the culinary world would take some time to catch up to what was happening. In 2019, when Michelin expanded to rate restaurants throughout all of California—not just the San Francisco area—Addison was the only one in San Diego to earn a star. But since emerging from the pandemic, the region’s food scene has grown dramatically. Driven by outstanding farms, ingredients, a bumper crop of talented chefs, and a G.D.P. approximately the size of New Zealand or Greece, San Diego County has become one of America’s most underrated dining destinations.

Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.

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Gage Forster

Perhaps no single restaurant is a better emblem for this shift than chef William Bradley’s Addison, which opened in 2006. After landing his first star, Bradley knew he wanted more. To get them, he transformed his French-leaning fare to serve what he calls California Gastronomy, which combines the cultures of SoCal with impeccable ingredients and wildly impressive techniques, prizing flavor over flair. Michelin responded, awarding Addison a second star in 2022, and making it the first Southern California three-star restaurant just a year later. The accolade has created a halo effect, attracting culinary tourists from around the world.

Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.

Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.

Eric Wolfinger

“Earning three stars forces the global dining community to pay attention to a place that may not have been on their radar before,” says chef Eric Bost, a partner in Resnick’s four Carlsbad establishments. 

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Resnick recruited Bost, who spent time at award-winning outposts of Restaurant Guy Savoy, to run Jeune et Jolie, which he led to a star in 2021. They’ve since taken over an old boogie-board factory down the street and converted it to an all-day restaurant and bakery, Wildland. The space also hosts an exquisite tasting-counter experience called Lilo, which was given a Michelin star mere months after opening in April 2025. And as Resnick and Bost grew their successful Carlsbad operation, chef Roberto Alcocer earned a Michelin star for his Mexican fine-dining spot Valle in nearby Oceanside.

The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.

The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.

Kimberly Motos

About 25 miles to the south, another affluent coastal community is going through its own culinary glow up. In La Jolla, chef Tara Monsod and the hospitality group Puffer Malarkey Collective opened the stylish French steakhouse Le Coq. Chef Erik Anderson, formerly of Michelin two-star Coi, is preparing to launch Roseacre. And last year, Per Se alums Elijah Arizmendi and Brian Hung left New York to open the elegant tasting-menu restaurant Lucien, lured by the ingredients they’d get to serve. “A major reason we chose San Diego is the quality and diversity of the produce,” Arizmendi explains. “San Diego County has more small farms than anywhere else in the U.S., and its many microclimates allow farmers to grow an incredible range of ingredients year-round.”

Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.

Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.

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Gage Forster

Chef Travis Swikard has also been a tireless advocate for the region’s ingredients since he returned to San Diego, his hometown, and opened Mediterranean-influenced Callie in 2021. There’s no sophomore slump with his latest effort, the French Riviera–inspired Fleurette in La Jolla, where he’s serving his take on classics like leeks vinaigrette and his San Diego “Bouillabaisse” with local red sheepshead fish and spiny lobster. Its food is bright, produce-driven, and attentive in execution, while the dining room maintains a relaxed and unpretentious style of service. And Swikard sees that approach cohering into a regional style with a strong network of professionals behind it.

“It’s really nice that we are developing our own identity, not trying to be like L.A. or any other market, just highlighting what’s great about the San Diego lifestyle and ingredients,” he says. “Similar to New York, a chef community is starting to develop where chefs are supporting each other. There is a true sense of pride to be cooking here.”

Top: In La Jolla, Lucien serves ocean whitefish with tomatoes turned into concasse, sabayon, and other expressions.





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