This Friday, June 7, the San Diego Wave played their 11th match in the 2024 NWSL regular season against Orlando Pride at Snapdragon Stadium.

The respective teams were heading into this match on very distinct paths, with the Wave winless in three games and the Pride on a massive eight-game winning streak.

However, despite these differences, the end result was a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Snapdragon Stadium. This was the first time this season that San Diego played with a fully healthy squad with a potent front three of Alex Morgan, Jaedyn Shaw and Maria Sanchez. However, the three did not have a major impact on the game, with limited chances created.

The first half pretty much summed up San Diego’s struggles this season, with Orlando taking advantage of their only shot of the half while the Wave struggled to be clinical. The lone goal of the half came in the 36th minute when Julie Doyle scored from a shot inside of the box. The scoring play started from a counter attack off a corner kick with a spectacular run and assist by Barbra Banda.

The Wave’s clearest chance in the first 45 minutes came from an outside-of-the-box shot by Danielle Colaprico, but the effort was stopped by Orlando goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse. The first half was a frustrating one for San Diego, as the tying goal seemed elusive.

However, that tying goal came in the 62nd minute of the second half when Makenzy Doniak scored from a shot inside of the penalty area after a cross by Maria Sanchez was deflected.

Kailen Sheridan had a pair of saves but did not have a particularly busy second half of play. The Wave were the better team in the second half, but the lone goal was all they had to show for it, with the final score being 1-1 at the Mission Valley Fortress. San Diego is now winless in four consecutive games, however against a tough opponent there were several positives to take away from this match.

Casey Stoney on whether the 1-1 draw against Orlando is a positive result for the Wave.@EVT_News pic.twitter.com/ZJrH2YQ0LC

— Francisco Velasco (@FranciscoEfV) June 8, 2024

When asked if this was a positive result, Casey Stoney said, “I would’ve preferred to win. I thought we were the better team. I thought we could’ve won the game. It’s a performance I’m concentrating on right now, we want to make sure we pick up more points, but we were the better side out there tonight. Obviously they traveled as well they had international (break) plus travel, so it’s tough for them. Arguably not their strongest squad they could have put out so there’s some realism there. But for what we did against the opponent was excellent, we just need to turn draws into wins now.”

Casey Stoney echoed what she has been saying over the past few weeks that there have been problems with the “final third” and with finishing. Makenzy Doniak also talked about this in the post-game press conference, as it is clearly the area of play that needs to improve on this San Diego team.

The San Diego Wave will now play three consecutive road games before returning to face Chicago on June 28.

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.