San Diego Wave looks to keep rolling against Orlando

The San Diego Wave will take on the Orlando Pride on Saturday night as Alex Morgan takes on one of her former teams.

It’s still early in the season, but the Wave and the Pride have had very opposing starts to the new campaign. Orlando picked up four points in their two games against the Wave last season, but San Diego will look to stay in good form and buck that trend. 

The Wave have won three of their four matches so far this year, which sees them sitting in third place in the NWSL. They’re just one point behind the Portland Thorns, who are atop the league.

Last Time Out

It was a great weekend for San Diego, who snagged a win on the road in Los Angeles. Taking on their rivals, Angel City FC, a pair of goals in the final 20 minutes powered the Wave to a 2-0 win. San Diego was out-shot 16-7, but they found their way into the back of the net when it mattered. Sofia Jakobsson scored on her birthday to give the Wave a lead before Makenzy Doniak had a shot deflected into the net five minutes later.

That was the Wave’s third game in eight days due to the midweek NWSL Challenge Cup match. They’ve had six days off to rest and recover from the taxing period. 

Meet the Orlando Pride

It has been an absolutely terrible start to the season from the Orlando Pride, who have lost all four of their NWSL games this season. Orlando didn’t pick up a win in their final six games of last season either, so it’s been ten league matches since Orlando snagged all three points. 

So far in 2023, they haven’t just been beaten; they’ve been embarrassed. The Pride have scored just once in four matches, conceding ten goals in the same timeframe. Their only goal of the season came from forward Messiah Bright, scoring a second-half equalizer against Angel City. In that match, Angel City found a winner deep into stoppage time, denying the Pride a point. In their last match, they were deadlocked with Gotham FC in stoppage time, but the visitors went ahead after Midge Purce converted a penalty kick.

The Pride may be pointless through four matches, but they’ve been level after 90 minutes twice this year. They’ve also never lost to the Wave, so it is crucial that San Diego stay focused and take all three points from a critical fixture against a struggling side.

Sam Evans

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.