Lackluster play and an ankle injury suffered by Alex Morgan spelled trouble Friday night for the San Diego Wave in a 1-0 soccer loss to host Orlando Pride.
It was the first road loss for the local club since Aug. 25, 2023, which was again against the Pride.
The Wave has scored only two goals in the first four games of regular season. Friday the team made only one shot on target vs. Pride’s eight attempts.
The only goal of the game, which Wave head coach Casey Stoney called a “comedy of errors,” occurred in the first half.
It started with Pride’s Summer Yates in the 26th minute. Angelina picked off a ball outside the Wave box, taking a touch before sending it wide to Kerry Abello. Pride is 2-0-3 with 9 points.
The Orlando midfielder then hit a cross that fell on frame and was pushed away by San Diego goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, but the rebound landed at the feet of Yates, who finished it to give the Pride the lead at Inter&Co Stadium.
Pride extended its unbeaten run to five games.
The Wave’s best chance happened in the 82nd minute when midfielder Savannah McCaskill received a ball over the top on the attack. McCaskill hit a pass out of the air that fell to Alex Morgan.
Morgan hit the ball on frame, but it was saved by defender Emily Sams before ultimately being grabbed by Orlando’s goalkeeper. Morgan injured her ankle on the play, and with San Diego having used all substitutes, the team played the final eight minutes and added time with 10 players.
Morgan hobbled off the pitch in pain and watched from the bench until the match ended.
Abby Dahlkemper said of Morgan after the match: “She’s doing OK. And she’s obviously a huge, important piece to our team. And she’ll be back as soon as possible.”
Defender Naomi Girma returned to the starting lineup after missing last week’s game in Louisville due to a thigh injury. She had 98.5% passing and eight clearances before being subbed in the 58th minute.
The highlight of the match for San Diego (1-2-1, 4 points) was a regular-season-high seven saves on the night by goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, including a one-on-one save against Orlando second-half substitute Barbra Banda, a Zambian star in her NWSL debut.
“I think it was very slow in the first half, like you say too many giveaways,” Stoney said. “You turn the ball over to a team like that, then they got their talent. They’re going to hurt you.”
Stoney concluded that her players made too many unforced errors.
The club has been on the road for 10 days (including a tie with Racing Louisville last weekend) and international players have missed some Wave practices.
But Stoney said: “No excuses — we’ve got to be better.”
A broadcast announcer’s opinion was that Wave players were “flummoxed” by the Pride’s play.
San Diego next hosts Bay FC at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, April 27. Kickoff is 7 p.m. Tickets are available here.