SAN DIEGO - The Wave FC came into Saturday's match with all the hallmarks of a team in form. Across the season, they have dominated possession, generated chances, and served up a relentless press. However, they left the game with nothing. A single first-half goal in stoppage time from Nicole Payne, her first in the NWSL after two years recovering from a torn ACL, was enough to hand Orlando Pride a 1-0 victory and leave Wave FC without a win in two games, and only two wins in the past six.
The defeat stings not because the Wave played poorly. They didn't. It stings because, across 90-plus minutes of football, they produced enough to win and were denied by a combination of tight defending, sharp goalkeeping from Anna Moorhouse, and the kind of finishing luck from the other team that has plagued them in recent weeks.
"We did a lot of things well on the pitch today,” said head coach Jonas Eidevall. “Obviously, the third game in an active period for us. We're playing our way out of pressure."
Gia Corley focuses on the pass. Miguel Mejia/Miguel Mejia Photography
A controlled first half that lacked the final touch
Wave FC settled into the game quickly, bossing possession from the first whistle and building patiently from the back. The opening fifteen minutes belonged to them, and it was goalkeeper Didi Haračić who first drew attention, pulling off a strong stop to keep the sheet clean early.
The Pride's approach was immediately clear: compact, physical, and disciplined in their defensive shape. Playing with a back line Jonas Eidevall later praised at length, noting he had coached two of its members at different points in his career, including Rafaellle Souza during a stint in Sweden and another at Arsenal, Orlando gave the Wave very little room through the middle and forced everything wide. What chances the Pride created were almost entirely from set pieces.
"They worked extremely hard,” he said of the Pride defenders. “There are two world-class defenders, and so they had a very solid team."
The match grew increasingly physical. Kimmi Ascanio was involved in three of the seven first-half fouls, and four of Orlando's fouls across the first half came at the expense of Ludmila. A yellow was shown to Kristen McNabb in the 35th minute when Barbra Banda of the Pride went down but pushed through and continued.
Haračić was called upon again in the 43rd minute to make another save, underscoring the few chances the Wave gave to Orlando. Each team had three shots on goal in the half, one corner kick, and the Wave held 59% of the ball, a performance that felt like a win in terms of control, if not scoreline.
Three minutes into stoppage time in the first half, Nicole Payne wrote herself into Pride history. Making the most of her opportunity, she scored her first NWSL goal after two years spent rehabbing an ACL injury. Orlando led 1-0.
It was the kind of goal that arrives not from sustained pressure but from patience and a single moment of precision. The Pride had been contained. They had been outplayed in most areas. And then they scored.
"I think Orlando is very effective with the chances that they created today,” said Eidevall. “We linked them to almost no opportunities at all in open play."
The Pride’s Haley McCutcheon was shown a yellow card in the 64th minute as fouls continued to accumulate. The Wave pressed and pressed, recycling the ball, switching flanks, working corners. Melanie Barcenas came on for Kenza Dali in the 83rd minute and injected fresh energy into the Wave side.
In the 87th minute, a header by Gabi Portilho came agonizingly close, missing the target but earning a corner kick. No goal. Then, Barcenas earned a free kick in the closing minutes. No goal. Then, seven minutes of stoppage time. It wasn't enough. The Wave pushed until the final whistle and left empty-handed.
The underlying story
Melanie Barcenas maintains possession. Miguel Mejia/Miguel Mejia Photography
The statistics told a familiar, frustrating tale. Wave FC led in possession (58%), shots (17 to 14), shots on goal (5 to 3), and crosses (15 to 6). The 12,149 fans witnessed a performance that, on paper, should have produced a result.
"Last season we were super effective and scored a lot of goals, not so many chances,” said Eidevall. “And this year we've done a little bit the other way, and scored not as many goals as we probably should have on our big amount of chances."
It's a shift. Last year's team went 7-3-3 in the first half of the season with 25 goals. This year's side sits at 7 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw, with 17 goals. The underlying chance-creation, however, shots on target, progressive passing, high-value opportunities, tells a different story. Wave lead the league in shots on target with 70 and are tied for second in goals scored with 17, and pass more accurately (83%) and more often (5,908 completed) than all other teams.
Where things stand
Wave FC sit third in the NWSL standings. The Spirit and Gotham FC both have enough points, and games in hand, to leapfrog them with a run of form. Orlando owns Wave FC, with a head-to-head record of 5 wins, 1 loss, and 2 draws, a record that underscores how reliably difficult this matchup has been.
Orlando especially needed the win with an 8th-place record of 4 wins, 5 losses, and 2 draws.
Chicago is next for San Diego. Eidevall's message to his team ahead of that game is characteristically collective.
"Victory belongs to everyone and is created by everyone. A lot of the things that we work on in the moment is about collaboration. What we've sort of been doing is more like unit-based, for them to take ownership over a situation and so we as a team can solve that as well."
The Wave's numbers are hard to argue with. The final execution, for now, remains the challenge.
Top Photo: Dudinha fights for control. Miguel Mejia/Miguel Mejia Photography
