Match Preview: Orlando Pride vs. San Diego Wave FC
Exploria Stadium | Orlando, Florida – Sunday, September 25 at 7:00 PM ET
Players to watch:
Orlando midfielder Jordyn Listro made seven tackles (winning five) in the club’s loss on Wednesday, and now leads the team in total tackles (37) and tackles won (22) for the season. Though held scoreless in their last three outings, the Pride have seen midfielder Meggie Dougherty Howard score twice in the three games prior, with attacker Ally Watt also scoring her first for the side in that span.
San Diego forward Jaedyn Shaw has lit up the seen in her recent matches, scoring in all three appearances of her young career thus far. Shaw is the second player in NWSL history to score in each of her first three matches in the league, along with Renae Cuellar, who did so for FCKC in the league’s inaugural season of 2013.
Match facts: The Orlando Pride welcome San Diego Wave FC to Exploria Stadium in the club’s last home match of the season, with the visitors San Diego needing a result to keep the pace in their race for first.
Orlando dropped its fourth consecutive match on Wednesday with a 3-0 defeat to North Carolina, the third straight game they’ve been held scoreless. Orlando’s run in that regard is the second of 2022 after having only two such streaks of that length in the club’s history prior to the season.
The Wave, meanwhile, beat Angel City on Saturday despite taking fewer shots (13-9) and holding less of the ball with just 47 percent of the possession. In games when San Diego has had the majority of possession, the Wave have won just two of their eight (D2 L4), but in games where they have had less of the ball, they have won eight of 12 (D2 L2).
In the first ever competitive meeting between Orlando and San Diego, the Pride won 1-0, with the only goal coming from the penalty spot. The Kansas City Current (three times) and OL Reign (once) are the only two other NWSL teams to win a match 1-0 with the lone goal coming from the spot this season.
Depending on other results around the league, a win for San Diego could put them as high as first but keeps them no lower than third place, while a draw or loss would drop them no lower than fourth.
