Now comes rough part of schedule
It’s about to get tougher for the Wave.
Four straight road games and much less recovery time will test the first-year club, beginning today at Racing Louisville (0-1-2).
San Diego (3-0) is atop the 12-team National Women’s Soccer League, the only team without a draw or defeat. The schedule afforded a full week before all three matches, most recently Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Chicago at the University of San Diego.
Not this week. Following the quick-turnaround game in Louisville (some 1,800 miles from San Diego), the Wave play Sunday in North Carolina.
They’ll get six and five days before games May 29 at Seattle and June 4 at Kansas City complete a season-long road stretch that equates to 18 percent of the schedule.
The Wave knew this was coming. Who are their leaders and are they ready for it?
Leading the team onto USD’s field Sunday for introductions were Alex Morgan, Kailen Sheridan and Naomi Girma. All three are playing well.
It’s hard to overstate the franchise boost provided by Morgan, who engineered a trade to the Wave in December. She appears in peak form and leads the NWSL with five goals, three off penalty kicks created by Tegan McGrady, Amirah Ali and Sofia Jakobsson. Doing grunt work, too, the 32-year-old Morgan has joined forwards Jakobsson and Jodie Taylor in supporting the defense by ambushing opponents from behind.
Off the field, Morgan has led team-building efforts and provided NWSL expertise to speed up growth.
“She’s someone who’s dedicated a lot of her career to moving the game forward in women’s soccer,” Girma said. “So, she brings that here in making sure that our club is at the highest standard. Treating the players well. Providing us with anything that will help us perform. She has, like, a presence. And, she’s a world champion. It’s really cool to have her here with us.”
Sheridan has backstopped a defense that’s allowed one goal. The Canadian’s varied passes fuel quick counterattacks.
“Listen,” said coach Casey Stoney, “our goalkeeper is probably the best goalkeeper in the world.”
Sheridan, 26, hasn’t won the NWSL’s award for top goalkeeper. But she was runner-up last year to Washington’s Audrey Bledsoe, 30, a two-time winner.
The decision to draft Girma first overall has paid quick dividends. Morgan said the rookie has resembled an NWSL veteran since starting the Wave’s first preseason match at defender. Stoney said she expects the U.S. national team will enlist Girma, 21, for World Cup qualifying matches in July.
Though it won’t help the team on the road, Girma’s popularity with Wave fans is noticeable. “It’s a blessing, and it’s really exciting that there are girls who look up to me,” said the Stanford graduate, San Jose native and daughter of Ethiopian immigrants.
“I just hope I can play well on the field and also show them things I do off the field and just inspire them to do what they want to do.”
Not until June 8 will the Wave play again in San Diego, facing a Portland team that beat them twice in the preseason.