Quick turnaround forces San Diego Wave to focus on stopping Reign

The San Diego Wave are struggling to string together positive results, score goals — and win.

Since the National Women’s Soccer League’s midseason break ended, the Wave have played four matches and collected just five total points. Things came to a head last weekend, when San Diego fell 1-0 to Racing Louisville at Snapdragon Stadium.

There’s no time to dwell on it. The Wave (8-4-5) are now in Seattle, where they’ll play the Reign (7-5-5) Friday night following a short week of preparation.

“Quick turnaround,” Wave manager Jonas Eidevall said. “So (it’s) really important for us to regain freshness from the last game. Some learnings there in what we need to do better and instill confidence and belief in the game plan and performance for Friday’s game.”

Eidevall has been vocal about the team’s recent form, stressing that the responsibility falls on everyone. He pointed to the need for tough conversations, saying after an Aug. 9 draw with Angel City that players and coaches needed to look themselves in the mirror.

“We’ve had really good, honest conversations about that, which I think is really important,” Eidevall said. “So we have a common goal on how we progress further as a team, and now we have a clear idea of where we need to go.”

The matchup in Seattle will be another challenge, particularly because of the Reign’s style of play. They like to spread teams out wide and thrive in transition, punishing opponents who lose possession.

The Wave saw that firsthand in their 2-1 loss to Seattle on June 6, a game that mirrored the way Angel City and Louisville found success against San Diego.

“If the game looks like that with two stretch teams, and it did look like that in spells in the second half last time we played against them,” Eidevall said. “It’s advantage, Seattle.”

History isn’t on San Diego’s side either. The Wave are 1-9-2 all-time against the Reign, with their lone win coming in March 2024.

The Wave may have an edge in one area: They play better on the road.

San Diego is 5-1-2 away from home this season — a key reason why it remains in third place in the NWSL standings with 29 points.

“It’s working good right now, playing away,” Wave midfielder Gia Corley said.

In difficult stretches, younger players often look to the veterans to lead, and that appears to be happening in San Diego’s locker room. Staying positive appears to be a theme; both Corley and Eidevall mentioned the importance of it during this week’s media sessions.

“Behavior goes where reinforcement flows,” Eidevall said. “So if we want people to do more of something, we need to reinforce that with positive attitude, with positive feedback, and these behaviors.”

While short weeks and travel can be difficult, the match forces the Wave to move on from last weekend’s gut-wrenching defeat. A victory in Seattle — in a stadium where they have never won — could provide a massive boost as they enter the back stretch of the season.

“We can stay positive because we know our strengths and because we know how we can play,” Corley said. “We just try to trust in ourselves, and that’s what makes us feel positive about the next games.”

San Diego Wave (8-4-5) vs. Seattle Reign (7-5-5)

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Lumen Field, Seattle

TV: KUSI, Paramount+