The San Diego Wave (8-7-7, 31 points, T-5th NWSL) fell out of position to host a first-round playoff match following their 2-1 defeat against the Orlando Pride (9-8-5, 32 points, 4th NWSL), their sixth straight match without a win.
The loss also extended their home losing streak to four straight matches and home winless streak to six. Their last win at Snapdragon Stadium came on May 25.
“These games will be decided by moments. Of course offensively to have a moment, but defensively you need to control the moments as well,” head coach Jonas Eidevall said.
Both of Orlando’s goals came in transition against the San Diego defense and goalkeeper DiDi Haracic, who made her second start of the season.
Ovalle, scoring her first NWSL goal, opened the game’s scoring in the eighth minute as San Diego’s defense was still getting into position.
Orlando forward Carson Pickett netted the game-winning goal in the 54th minute as she snuck in on the left side at San Diego’s back line.
Those moments have not gone the Wave’s way as of late and Eidevall believes that’s the biggest reason for the latest trend during the Wave’s longest winless streak this season, though he acknowledged that the team also isn’t scoring enough goals.
“We’re not here in the season where we can expect us to win games if we are not playing really good defense. It's just as simple as that, and that means that the way we play defense, we play in a very not individual manner, like, everything needs to sit together, we need to follow each other, and we need to determine our position towards the ball and teammates and not so much those moments,” Eidevall said.
The Wave’s last win came on Aug. 16, and they’ve won just two of their last 12 matches. Their loss dropped them into sixth place in the NWSL table with the possibility of falling to seventh depending on the rest of the weekend’s results. The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs which begin in November.
They opened the season’s second half on Aug. 2 in second place and have won just one match since then.
Dudinha scored San Diego’s lone goal, her first since joining the Wave in August, in the 10th minute just two minutes after Orlando struck first.
Dudinha intercepted a pass from Orlando goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse who was up at the edge of the penalty box. Dubinha shot just over Moorhouse who made contact with the ball, but it still went into the goal.
Up next: The Wave’s next matchup, as they look to end their six-match winless streak, will come in the nation’s capital on Sunday, Oct. 5 with a 10 a.m. PT kickoff against the Washington Spirit.