San Diego Wave/Washington Spirit Match Preview
Spirit vs. Wave
San Diego Wave vs. Washington Spirit
Torero Stadium – USD
Sunday, July 3 at 2 pm
The San Diego Wave will play their eleventh match of the season on Sunday, as they return home for the first time since June 12. They’ll take on the Washington Spirit in the match.
The Wave won 3-0 over Gotham FC last time out, ending a four-match winless streak in the process. The win moved the Wave to 5-3-2, putting them atop the NWSL. Washington is eighth in the division, but they are in the midst of a dismal run. They have not won in their last ten competitive matches.
However, the Wave will be without leading goalscorer Alex Morgan, who is off on international duty with the United States Women’s National Team. Along with Morgan, the Wave will also be without defender Naomi Girma and midfielder Taylor Kornieck, who are with the USWNT as well.
All three were named to the NWSL Best XI of the month for both May and June, so it will be especially difficult for the Wave without them.
The Wave are allowed to sign three national team replacement players without losing the roster spots of the players on international duty. They signed midfielder Jackie Altschuld, defender Sydney Cummings and forward Sarah Sodoma to the team, and all three will be available for squad selection.
The newly added trio will be expected to stay with the Wave for the next three matches before being released after Morgan, Girma, and Kornieck return.
Washington’s defense and offense are both below average, as they do not really do anything especially well. However, while the Spirit have not won in their last ten matches, they have also lost just twice in their last eight.
The challenge for the Wave will be to make sure that they are able to secure all three points, even when they are without some of their best players.
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It’s a crucial opportunity for the Wave to win their second consecutive match, and it will say a lot about their squad depth if they win even when they are not at their best.
The Wave will travel up to Los Angeles to face fellow expansion franchise Angel City on July 9 at 7:30 PM.
Sam is a Senior in High School. He has been writing for three years, and started at EVT in June of 2021. He’s headed to Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Communications in the fall of 2023.