The San Diego Wave played their 11th match of the 2023 NWSL regular season this Friday, June 9, against Racing Louisville at Lynn Family Stadium. The Wave were headed into the match as heavy favorites against a struggling Louisville side. Still, the game ended scoreless thanks to two massive performances in net by Kailen Sheridan and Katie Lund.

A big surprise for the Wave in the starting lineup was the absence of Alex Morgan, even from the bench. Wave FC coach Casey Stoney described Morgan’s absence as a “precautionary rest.” Stoney described Morgan having a “tight calf” and said that the pitch conditions at Lynn Family Field were “poor.” Stoney also mentioned the World Cup as a motive for being precautionary with Alex Morgan, given the circumstances.

The Wave’s attack was consisted of Sofia Jakobsson, Makenzy Doniak, Jaedyn Shaw, and Meggie Dougherty Howard. With Alex Morgan getting the day off, Kailen Sheridan was given the captain’s armband for the first time this season.

The first big save of the night by the goalkeepers came in the 40th minute when Katie Lund saved a potent strike by Makenzy Doniak. The second half was definitely more entertaining than the first half of the match, as both teams combined for just three shots on target in the opening 45 minutes.

The first big opportunity of the second half came in the 47th minute when Jaedyn Shaw released a powerful long-range shot that was stopped by Katie Lund. Kailen Sheridan kept up with Lund throughout the match; in the 68th minute, she stopped a long-range effort by Ary Borges to keep the game scoreless.

In the 85th minute, a shot inside of the penalty area by Alexandra Chidiac was stopped by Sheridan, as the Canadian shot-stopper did more than enough to keep the Wave in the game. Katie Lund remained consistent right down to the final whistle; her final stop came in the 89th minute when she stopped an outside of the box strike by Danielle Colaprico.

Alex Morgan’s finishing ability was missed in the match, as the Wave were thwarted offensively by Katie Lund but also missed a handful of scoring opportunities in front of net. The game was not a boring one despite the scoreline, and the Wave retained a five-game undefeated streak in NWSL league play.

Kailen Sheridan was definitely the key player for the Wave in this match with four saves in the clash, which equaled the effort put in  by Louisville’s Katie Lund.

San Diego is now in first place with 20 points on the NWSL table at the time of writing, with several teams yet to play their matches. San Diego will return to Snapdragon Stadium to face rivals Angel City FC on Saturday, June 17 in what is another vital match at this point of the season.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.