The San Diego Wave had several opportunities to defeat Boston Legacy FC but instead settled for a 2-2 draw Sunday afternoon at Snapdragon Stadium.
A draw isn’t necessarily a terrible result, but the Wave didn’t look like the same team that had won five consecutive matches and rose to second in the National Women’s Soccer League standings.
Perhaps it will prove to be the wake-up call San Diego (17-8-4) needs before the playoffs begin in two weeks.
“Today it was one of those days where we didn’t have the margins on our side, and we need to accept that,” Wave coach Jonas Eidevall said. “We need to look ourselves in the mirror and see what we can do better, of course.”
The frustration was evident toward the end of the match and continued after the final whistle.
In the third minute of second-half stoppage time, Wave midfielder Kenza Dali confronted referee Mathew Corrigan over what she believed was time-wasting by Boston, an expansion team currently stuck near the bottom of the NWSL standings. Corrigan issued yellow cards to Dali and Legacy goalkeeper Laurel Ivory.
After the match, Dali crouched down following Eidevall’s postgame address to the team. Other players, including Kimmi Ascanio, also appeared visibly frustrated.
“Speaks a bit about how far we have come with the expectations that we put on ourselves as well, which I think it’s right to do,” Eidevall said.
The scoring began in the 48th minute, when Boston’s Sarah Schupansky sent a pass into the box that Aïssata Traoré redirected only for Wave goalkeeper Sandra Paños to make a diving save. Annie Karich collected the rebound near the back post and scored to give Boston a 1-0 lead.
That lead didn’t last long.
In the 51st minute, San Diego’s Melanie Barcenas pushed the ball upfield and found Gia Corley unmarked near the top of the penalty area. Corley fired a shot past Ivory to tie the match.
It was Corley’s fourth goal in her last six matches.
“I think she’s super dangerous and kind of just opens up a lot of space on the field,” Barcenas said. “She’s doing a great job at putting it in the back of the net at the end of the day.”
Three minutes later, San Diego took the lead following an impressive sequence of passes that ended with Dali finding Trinity Byars inside the box. Byars put the ball in the back of the net for a 2-1 lead, although it was officially credited as an own goal by Boston defender Laís Araújo.
But Boston wasn’t finished.
In the 73rd minute, Alba Caño evaded a tackle from Ascanio and unleashed a powerful shot from approximately 25 yards out that rocketed into the right corner of the net, tying the match at 2-2.
“I think we’re disappointed with letting up those goals,” Wave defender Kristen McNabb said. “I mean, the second shot was a banger, but just preventable goals.”
Much of San Diego’s frustration stemmed from its inability to capitalize on scoring opportunities, an issue that had plagued the team before its winning streak.
In the 36th minute, Ivory made consecutive saves on attempts from Byars and Barcenas before Lia Godfrey put the rebound into the net. However, a VAR review determined Godfrey was offside during the buildup, disallowing the goal and drawing boos from the crowd.
“We had chances before that and after that, and continued to have that in the second half,” Barcenas said. “So I think it’s just kind of the disappointment there, knowing we could have put a few away, I could have put a few away, and so that’s fully on us.”
Despite the disappointing result, Eidevall’s message to his players was simple: move forward and prepare for the club’s Nov. 1 regular-season finale against Bay FC.
“I understand the disappointment, but the most important thing is that we need to get ready for next weekend, and that’s the task that we have ahead of us,” Eidevall said.
San Diego now sits three points behind Gotham FC heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
The Wave must defeat Bay FC and hope Gotham drops points to keep their NWSL Shield hopes alive. More importantly, a victory would help San Diego regain momentum before the playoffs begin.
“We definitely go in there with ambition to win and try to put pressure on Gotham,” Eidevall said.