The San Diego Wave will take another shot at one of the NWSL’s best teams on Sunday, when they visit the first-place Washington Spirit in a matchup that could matter at the top end of the standings.
San Diego enters the game fourth with 29 points, which keeps the Wave squarely in the race for a home playoff match. In the NWSL, the top four teams secure that advantage, so every result against a direct contender carries extra weight.
The Wave already proved they can handle Washington once this season. San Diego earned a 2-1 victory the last time the clubs met, a result that stands out even more now that the Spirit have surged since then.
Washington has won six of its last seven matches and has been one of the league’s most reliable teams on the defensive side as well, allowing only 12 goals through 17 matches. In its most recent referenced match, Washington beat the Utah Royals 1-0.
That makes Sunday a useful measuring stick for San Diego, which is trying to steady its form after a 2-0 loss to the Seattle Reign in its previous home match. The Wave have also been less efficient at home than away, according to coach Jonas Eidevall, who said San Diego needs its road finishing to continue against Washington.
Eidevall’s point is simple: the Wave have been getting chances, but they need to be sharper when they arrive. Adriana Leon echoed that idea, saying San Diego has done a good job getting into the final third and needs to clean up the final pass to turn those moves into more goals.
What makes Washington dangerous
Trinity Rodman remains the headliner in the Spirit attack, and Eidevall singled her out as a world-class player in excellent form. He pointed to her off-the-ball movement as a major reason Washington has been so hard to defend, noting that she keeps threatening the back line with repeated runs and different angles in the same attack.
That does not mean Rodman is the only threat. Washington’s recent results suggest a team that is difficult to contain across the full match, especially at Audi Field, where it will try to build on its place at the top of the table.
For San Diego, the task is straightforward even if the setting is not: match Washington’s intensity, finish the chances that come, and leave Sunday with a result that helps keep the Wave near the top four. With playoff positioning still in play, this is the kind of road game that can carry extra meaning in July.
