The San Diego Wave walk into Friday night with a chance to measure themselves against the top of the table, and they do it on the road. Gotham leads the National Women’s Soccer League at 11-3-4, but San Diego brings a 10-6-2 record and a recent win that has sharpened the stakes.
That latest result came Sunday, when Lia Godfrey scored in the 60th minute to lift the Wave past the Washington Spirit. It followed a 2-0 victory over Gotham after the international break, a result that gives San Diego a reason to believe the matchup is not just about standing in the standings but about whether its best stretch can hold up twice in a row.
Jonas Eidevall has made the point plainly: the Wave need what they showed against Washington to happen again and again, until it becomes part of who they are. That is the standard hanging over San Diego now, especially with a road record of 6-2-1 that suggests the group has been comfortable away from home even when the opposition and the moment get bigger.
There is also a player-shaped wrinkle in Gotham’s attack. Esther left Gotham on July 27, and Sam Kerr has stepped into that spot as the club’s all-time leading scorer in all competitions. Eidevall’s read is that the role change alters the shape of the forward line: Kerr stays higher, plays more like a true nine, and gives Gotham a different look in midfield even if the aim remains the same. That is what makes the rematch more than a simple replay of the earlier 2-0 score line.
The game arrives with one more bit of context around the Wave: five players, including Mimi Van Zanten, went to the Season 4 premiere of Ted Lasso in Los Angeles before heading to Washington last week. The group met Jason Sudeikis there, and Van Zanten said she and Tatum Wynalda were stunned when Temwa Chawinga scored in the episode, a scene that left them emotional because of how closely it echoed women’s soccer. For San Diego, that kind of visibility sits alongside the week’s more immediate test — whether a team that has already beaten first-place Gotham can back it up when the rematch comes on Friday night.
