San Diego Wave FC fans left Snapdragon Stadium hungry on Pi Day after their team came up scoreless in the season opener.

SAN DIEGO — After a contentious stoppage-time goal before the end of the first half, San Diego Wave FC found themselves behind in a game where they were otherwise in control.

That goal came off the foot of a former Wave staple, Makenzy Robbe, and would be the only goal of the game.

Robbe’s goal right before half would’ve stung a little less if it hadn’t come on the transition of a promising Ludmila attack that was cut off by a slide tackle in the box.

The Wave were not without their chances throughout the game, putting up 18 shots and developing pressure consistently. Dash Goalkeeper Jane Campbell’s clean sheet received respect from Wave captain Kenza Dali.

“[Campbell] had the performance of the match, for me,” Dali said. “We need to be more aggressive in the box.”

San Diego controlled the ball over 70% of the game, and with 14 corners, but several chances didn’t pan out. Houston is one of the better corner-defending teams of the past couple of seasons, and held that standard throughout the game.

Two new signings, Gabi Portilho and Ludmila, debuted in tonight’s match and were involved in several scoring chances. Wave rookie Mimi Van Zanten and her older sister Kiki are the twelfth pair of sisters in NWSL history, and the older now holds the bragging rights.

Looking forward to season 5

The regular season plays all the way to November 1. Dali shared confidence in the team’s ability to bounce back from the loss and gave praise to the newcomers who made their Wave debut.

Defender Kennedy Wesley also shared an overall sense of pride, despite not getting the desired result. While nine shots on target and nothing to show for it certainly speaks to good goalkeeping, the team’s focus is more on converting on those chances.

“We need to emphasize getting pressure on the ball to get us higher up on the field,” Wesley said.

Building confidence on the transition is going to be a main focal point in the team’s preparation for game two against the Utah Royals on March 22. Growing pains around team chemistry are a main focus, given the changes to the roster. Head coach Jonas Eidevall shared his philosophy on growing through this loss.

“We have an active choice on where we choose to spend our mental energy,” Eidevall said. “We can’t think about the past too much while playing the game.”

Eidevall said that thinking about the rest of the game and what could be done to address the mistakes made was still the focus in the locker room at halftime.

Up next for San Diego Wave FC

The Wave will be going on the road to Utah before their highly anticipated rematch with the Portland Thorns on Wednesday, March 25.

Coach Eidevall and his side know that November is a long way away, with lots of football left to be played.

“It’s a long season, you always have to be ready to go again,” Coach Eidevall said. “There would have been learnings from this game if we had won. You have to be able to go again, and again, and again.”

Nate Tubbs

Nate Tubbs is a recent graduate of Journalism at San Diego State University. In his time at SDSU, he wrote and photographed several different sports for Aztec Link, the school’s NIL collective. He also co-hosted a weekly podcast featuring Aztec athletes, sharing their stories and goals for the season. Tubbs is passionate about photography, storytelling, and most of all, San Diego sports.