SAN DIEGO -- There were no disillusions about San Diego Wave’s Sunday afternoon matchup against the Washington Spirit. The six-game winless Wave would have more than a hard time against the 10-game unbeaten Spirit. Thus, however unfortunate, the weekend loss was not the surprise, but rather the fashion by which the Wave lost that proved most staggering.
San Diego was on the back foot from the first minute. By the ninth, a well-placed cross and header put Washington up 1-0. In the 11th, the Spirit passed circles around the Wave, who ran unavailingly around the pitch. In the 19th minute, Washington forward Trinity Rodman waltzed through San Diego’s half and box, nearly doubling the lead before Kailen Sheridan came to the rescue.
In effect, the Spirit had its way with the Wave on Sunday. While the Wave retained higher possession, the Spirit’s dominance with the ball became a theme throughout the match. San Diego looked amateur compared to Washington, only made more apparent by the Wave’s disoriented playmaking with the ball.
The drop off in performance from the first half of the season has been the ever-growing elephant in the room for the Wave for weeks now. How does a team go from solid playoff contention to teetering on the edge of making it at all? The brief responses of manager Jonas Eidevall shine little light on the mystery. Thus, it often falls to surface-level observations and speculation for these supposed problems.
One clear factor is the Wave’s roster moves. The departure of players, most notably forward María Sánchez, as well as the creation of a seeming “depth chart,” have caused volatility on game day. Accompanying both is the addition of new players wedged into the starting lineup before the chemistry has time to catch up. New signing Dudinha grew visibly frustrated several times on Sunday, including an apparent miscommunication on a promising goal-scoring opportunity.
On the same beat, however, are the remaining players who were so instrumental to the team’s early-season success — the very same who kept them in Sunday’s matchup. Kailen Sheridan made nine saves, the bulk of which required extensive effort, to keep the game close. Delphine Cascarino tapped in the tying goal in stoppage time. Perle Morroni shut down Rodman for most of the match.
Thus, the mystery continues as the Wave’s season may come to a close sooner than ever expected.
