September 10th @ Audi Field

Records: 

Washington Spirit 1-6-10 (11th)

San Diego Wave FC 9-5-4 (1st)

Last Match:

Washington Spirit Tied Houston Dash 2-2

San Diego Wave FC Won vs. Portland Thorns FC 2-0

Clash in the Capital

The San Diego Wave FC travel to our nation’s capital this weekend to take on last year’s league winners Washington Spirit (hopefully the USWNT members stayed in D.C. after their match vs. Nigeria in Washington this week, to save on airfare, you know). And fun fact: Washington’s Sam Staab hails from San Diego. The last time these two teams met in July, the Wave won 2-1, fyi.

History Made And In The Making

Shockingly, the Spirit haven’t won a game since…their first home game against the OL Reign in…May…sixteen games ago. This fact comes on the heels of the first championship trophy in the ten-year tenure of the team. And speaking of ten, back in 2018, that was the number of consecutive losses in a season the team had, a league record that still stands today. With six losses this season (a LOT of ties), and five games left to go, let’s hope they don’t break or tie their own futile record. Note: I did not enjoy researching “the worst” stats for this article, by the way.

Meanwhile, the Wave are en route to making a different kind of history, as potential league winners in their first expansion season. That record will be a higher hill to climb, but they’re set to break the NWSL’s single-game attendance mark next week at their new permanent home, Snapdragon Stadium vs. Angel City FC (a sellout at 32,000 tickets sold as of this writing).

As far as league debuts go, the Wave are riding high (pardon the pun) atop the table and could unpredictably win the whole thing.

Opposite Ends

There is nothing predictable about a league winner having a disappointing season post-championship. Even Leicester City, the improbable winners of the Men’s English Premier League in the 2015-2016 season (5,000-1 odds), continued their fine form in the following season. There is much to be dissected and improved upon by Spirit players, coaches, fans, and first-year owner Michele Kang after this go-round, in other words.

The Spirit are sitting in eleventh place (out of twelve) and thirteen points, which is thirteen points behind the Red Stars, i.e. the current occupiers of that last playoff spot. I don’t think anyone associated with the Spirit are garnering any illusions of a playoff run (and I don’t think it’s mathematically possible at this point, though I am open to being proven wrong). It’s fair to say this is not where the team wanted to be after their amazing first championship.

Wave coach Casey Stoney & Co. wanted to…make waves (pardon the second pun) in their first season, and that’s exactly what they’re doing. The Wave are currently occupying the second spot in the table (after a Thorns win last night, though they are tied in points with them), and have a near guaranteed playoff spot at this point. With an away win vs. the Spirit today, the Wave would regain the top spot.

Friends and Foes and Golden Booters

In other league-leading news, U.S. international and Wave forward Alex Morgan is currently leading the Golden Boot race. The next closest competitors (and U.S. teammates) Sophia Smith and Mallory Pugh played against each other last night and neither managed to usurp Morgan in those particular standings.

Morgan’s other USWNT teammate/fellow forward Ashley Hatch is back in action after an injury (left leg muscle strain) and a number of missed games for both club and country. Ashley Hatch, of course, was the league’s Golden Boot winner last season. This season, she’s no slouch either with seven goals to her name, and that despite the aforementioned injury. She scored two goals in the Spirit’s last match, in fact (Morgan had a goal and an assist vs. Portland). So, we’ll be seeing some players with high numbers of goals on the field for this match. And don’t forget about the young ins Jaedyn Shaw (17yo), the other Ashley (Sanchez, 23yo), and league superstar and fan favorite Trinity Rodman (20yo).

Winning soccer isn’t just about the goalscorers though, and must include talent in both the midfield, defender, and goalkeeper position groups. Both teams boast national team caliber defenders (and again, USWNT teammates), including: Kelley O’Hara, Emily Sonnett (although currently sidelined for the season with an injury), Naomi Girma, and Abby Dahlkemper (though she hasn’t gotten a callup in a while). Behind them are the American talent Aubrey Kingsbury and Canadian stalwart Kailen Sheridan. Even the backup GKs Devon Kerr, Nicole Barnhart, and Melissa Lowder have youth or senior field (or beach!) national team experience. Andi Sullivan,Taylor Kornieck, Julia Roddar (Sweden), Kristen McNabb (former U.S. U-18 and U-23 player) and Emily Van Egmond (Australia) round out the midfield(s) group from both sides and battles will abound all over the field.

Note for the fantasy fans: Nick recommends selecting McNabb this week in Fantasy NWSL “Affordable” Options.

Storylines

Fantasy NWSL statistics provided by Christina rank this the fourth game on points this weekend in NWSL Round 17 Match of the Week (the Reign vs. Red Stars game ranked highest). This information didn’t stop CBS from featuring this match in their Saturday lineup, however.

Statistics aside, on the team level, we could witness the “passing of the torch” (trophy) from last year’s league winners Spirit to this year’s league debutantes Wave. On the individual level, the Golden Boot trophy could switch hands (although, ironically, it’s a trophy for foot competency) from last season’s winner Ashley Hatch to this season’s Alex Morgan.

Will the Spirit break the hangover of their post-championship season by beating the Wave at home today, fueled by new interim coach energy (Albertin Montoya) and a desire to metaphorically (and emotionally) salvage the season? (“So you’re saying there’s a chance…” from Dumb and Dumber). Or, will the Wave overtake the Thorns for the top spot for the second time this season?

All this and more can be answered by tuning in.

UPDATE: Spirit won with a final score of 4-3!! (PK by Hatch in the 100th minute)