San Diego Wave’s scorching hot streak hosts Utah Royals in playoff opener.

San Diego Wave FC, winners of six of their last seven matches, welcome the Utah Royals to Snapdragon Stadium on Friday night for the quarterfinal round of the 2026 NWSL Playoffs.

The Wave clinched the No. 2 seed with a 1-0 victory over Bay FC on Sunday at PayPal Park.

Defender Mimi Van Zanten scored the winner in the ninth minute.

San Diego missed out on the top seed and the Supporters’ Shield when Gotham FC beat Utah that same afternoon.

But the Wave still earned home-field advantage for at least the quarterfinal and, if they advance, the semifinal round as well.

The two teams met twice during the regular season.

San Diego won 2-1 on March 22 at America First Field in Utah.

The Wave then won 4-2 on Aug. 21 at Snapdragon Stadium, powered by a brace from forward Trinity Byars.

“We’ve seen what works for us, but also what challenges we had in those games,” said SD Wave head coach Jonas Eidevall.

“Now comes the work for us to prepare the team for Friday. It’s like a real final when you go to playoffs with exciting games.”

Utah enters the quarterfinal winless in its last four matches.

The Royals have been shut out in their last three games.

San Diego comes in as the hottest team in the league.

The Wave are undefeated in their last seven matches, with six wins and one draw.

The last time San Diego lost was Sept. 6, when the Seattle Reign won 1-0 at Lumen Field.

The Reign finished as the No. 8 seed with a worse goal differential than Utah, so San Diego avoided its historical nemesis in the quarterfinal.

The Wave have dominated Seattle historically with an 11-3-1 record.

“Of course we wanted to finish as high up in the table as possible, but it’s also the way we do things,” Eidevall added.

“It’s the mentality and performances that we build at home that really makes Snapdragon our fortress.”

The Wave finished the regular season with a home record of 8-5-2.

San Diego’s last defeat at Snapdragon Stadium came July 26, when the Reign won 2-0.

Since then, the Wave are undefeated at home in six matches, with four wins and two draws.

During that stretch, San Diego has outscored opponents 14-8.

“I think Utah has done a great job this season making the playoffs, so it’s going to be a difficult game,” said SD Wave midfielder Kenza Dali.

“It’s up to us at home to make them run and play our game. We are going to do everything to get the result.”

If the Wave advance, they will host the winner of the quarterfinal between the No. 6 Portland Thorns and the No. 3 Washington Spirit.

Portland eliminated San Diego from the playoffs in 2024.

The NWSL playoffs follow a single-elimination format.

Only twice in the last six years has the No. 1 seed won both the Supporters’ Shield and the NWSL Championship in the same season.

North Carolina Courage did it in 2019, and Orlando Pride did it in 2024.

In both 2023 and 2025, the lowest-seeded team — Gotham FC on both occasions — won the championship despite unfavorable odds.

Gotham FC enters this postseason as the No. 1 seed and reigning champion of all three domestic trophies: the NWSL Shield, the NWSL Championship, and the Challenge Cup.

Sports Illustrated ranked San Diego as the No. 1 power in its NWSL playoff power rankings.

The Wave missed the regular-season title by three points.

San Diego lost star winger Dudinha to an ACL injury in June.

Despite that setback, the Wave went 8-1-1 through the final 10 matches of the season.

Sophomore striker Trinity Byars has exploded into form since the summer break.

San Diego is considered the most consistent on-ball team in the NWSL.

The 2026 NWSL Playoffs feature 65 former players from Atlantic Coast Conference schools, the most among all conferences.

That number eclipses last season’s mark of 57.

San Diego’s roster includes eight former ACC players: Trinity Armstrong (North Carolina), Lia Godfrey (Virginia), Nya Harrison (Stanford), Catarina Macario (Stanford), Kristen McNabb (Virginia), Kiki Pickett (Stanford), Mimi Van Zanten (Florida State), and Kennedy Wesley (Stanford).

At least one former ACC player has been a member of the starting XI for every NWSL champion in league history, dating back to 2013.

Last season, Florida State’s Jaelin Howell, Pitt’s Sarah Schupansky, and Virginia’s Emily Sonnett earned starts in the NWSL Championship match and helped lead Gotham FC to the franchise’s second title in three seasons.

The NWSL expanded this season, but the playoff format remained unchanged.

The quarterfinals, semifinals, and final are all single-elimination.