San Diego Wave Vs Gotham on Friday night is another sharp test for Jonas Eidevall's side, and the Wave coach has made the challenge clear: one good result is not enough unless it can be repeated. After beating the Washington Spirit on Sunday, the Wave now travel to face NJ/NY Gotham FC, the new first-place team in the NWSL.
That makes this a notable follow-up to a win that could have changed the mood around San Diego. The Wave went into Washington and produced a 2-0 result, with Lia Godfrey scoring in the 60th minute, and they will now try to show that performance was more than a one-off against the previous league leaders.
Eidevall wants consistency, not a one-off
Eidevall said the Sunday win mattered, but only if it can become a regular standard rather than an occasional flash.
“I think there are components in that victory that was really important, and it comes to us to say, can we do that, week in and week out,” he said.
He added that the aim is for it to “become an identity rather than something that we can do sometimes.”
That is the real theme of this trip to New Jersey. The Wave have been one of the better road teams in the NWSL this season, so there is reason to believe they can handle the setting again. But consistency is the next step, and this is the kind of match that shows whether a team is building habits or simply collecting impressive results.
Why Gotham look different now
Gotham's attack has changed since Esther left on July 27 and Sam Kerr became the striker. Eidevall pointed to that shift when assessing the matchup, saying they “just play a little bit different as nines,” with Esther more likely to drop and link play.
“Sam is staying much much higher and playing the nine that position, which creates a little bit different dynamic in their midfield, essentially, they’re trying to do the same thing,” he said.
That matters because Gotham entered the match as the league's new top side. The Wave are facing a team at the right end of the table, on the road again, and against a forward line that now asks different questions. For San Diego, the defensive structure has to be ready to deal with that change while still allowing them to play with the confidence they showed against Washington.
A bigger week for the Wave
The match also comes with a slightly unusual backdrop. Five Wave players attended the Ted Lasso Season 4 premiere before travelling to Washington last week, including Mimi Van Zanten, who said the event felt significant because of the show’s interest in women’s sports.
Van Zanten said it was “really incredible” to see Ted Lasso move into women’s soccer, and described the reaction among teammates as emotional.
That is a side note rather than the main story, but it fits the bigger picture around San Diego right now. This is a team trying to build an identity both on and off the pitch. On the field, Eidevall wants the Sunday win to mean something more. Off it, the Wave are increasingly part of the wider conversation around women’s football.
Friday night will tell us more about the football side of that story. If San Diego can back up the Washington result against Gotham, the win over the old leaders will start to look like a statement. If not, it becomes another useful performance in a season that still needs a clearer pattern.
