Even coach all smiles after Wave’s first win

There is a person on the San Diego Wave FC staff who is green-lighted to pump the brakes for hypercompetitive coach Casey Stoney. Unease spikes? She lowers it. Perspective strays? She corrals it.

The shorthand job title might as well be Stoney Patience Coordinator.

“There is somebody who’s responsible for looking after that with me, in terms of my emotional control and my desire to want to go 100 mph,” said Stoney, with a chuckle, of Mental Well-being and Performance coach Lorna Harkins.

“So yeah, there is someone that has permission to keep me in check. Absolutely.”

It’s understandable, given the unrelenting drive of Stoney, a former English captain and veteran of three World Cups and the Olympics. Grabbing the reins of a new organization with no identity, no cohesion, no anything nine weeks ago would do more than test patience for a person wired in her way.

That’s why a 4-2 win Saturday against Angel City at Torero Stadium — the first victory in club history, three games in — produced something Harkins did not need to manage or tweak.

An honest-to-goodness smile.

“I don’t smile often, players will tell you that,” said Stoney, threatening to bust out another one. “I’m kind of overcome with pride, in terms of today’s performance.”

In two games, the freshout-of-the-package Wave scraped up one goal in a 1-1 draw with Angel City and a 1-0 loss to Portland in their first two efforts as a National Women’s Soccer League club. Then the goals arrived as if someone spun open a water spigot.

Forward Jodie Taylor attempted a header off a cross from Alex Morgan before snapping in the rebound in the 19th minute. Morgan collected one of her own on the final possession of the first half, then added another to snap a 2-2 tie in the 72nd minute. Amira Ali pushed the total to four, nine minutes later.

The scoring-deprived Wave became so goal happy that defender Tegan Mcgrady contributed half of Angel City’s offense during a first-half communication mix-up with keeper Kailen Sheridan.

The scoring came, along with a few raindrops, in front of nearly 5,200.

So, Stoney smiled. “We looked dangerous tonight,” she said.

Waiting for the wet clay you’ve molded to harden into a polished, finished product can be a bit of a bumpy, rutted road. It’s the process, they say. It’s the journey, they say. At some point, though, it’s the winning.

The Wave needed one of those, substance trumping style points, in the NWSL Challenge Cup.

“After going in front, the fact they dominated the first half and could have gone in deflated, I thought they showed real character,” Stoney said. Dominate early, they did. Shots: 15-2. Corners: 11-0. Crosses: 27-2. To barely lead, thanks to the Morgan goal at the wire before halftime, kept the win-loss drama on speed dial. But the offense kept up the pressure.

And because of it, they helped lower Stoney’s blood pressure.

“I feel like she’s quite composed,” Taylor said of her coach. “She doesn’t show it. I think she’s been very positive and patient with the team. It’s the same for us as players. We want to be scoring goals. We want to be winning games.”

You can see how impactful Wave forwards Morgan, Taylor and recent Swedish pickup Sofia Jakobsson could be.

Morgan, the USWNT veteran, is a proven goal scorer. Taylor played on a World Cup medal-winner for England. Jakobsson came from powerhouse Bayern Munich.

“We all kind of bring something different to the game,” Morgan said of the group that started together for the first time. “Regardless of who’s playing what position, if we’re all three on the field, I feel like we’re guaranteed to get some goals.”

Stoney’s celebration was short lived, as she joined workouts with those who did not play in the game. Asked why she jumped into drills and conditioning with players, she offered a glimpse into her team building.

Keep legs fresh, while keeping minds the same.

“If I don’t (play) them, it’s my responsibility to do the work with them,” Stoney said.

All of it became labors of love, given the day’s result.

There’s clear talent on the Wave, but you never know how it will come together until, well, it does.

“We know we needed to win,” Taylor said. “It’s treated as preseason and we’re still building, but it’s a Cup we want to be successful in. I think the more we’re jelling together … I think our confidence is growing.”

Words like jelling and confidence will help ease any lingering internal turbulence for Stoney.

The wet clay clearly was drying Saturday, despite the drizzle falling at the stadium.

Smiles all around. “I’ve been on a new team before and your first win is really important,” Stoney said.

Go ahead and give Harkins the rest of the weekend off.

DENIS POROY FOR THE U-T Alex Morgan celebrates with her San Diego Wave teammates after scoring a second-half goal in the first-year team’s first win Saturday.