With only three regular-season matches remaining, the San Diego Wave are desperately fighting to secure their playoff position in what has become a tale of two completely different seasons.
Before the summer break in July, the Wave were one of the top teams in the NWSL. However, after winning just one of their 10 matches since the beginning of August, the Wave now find themselves on the precipice of missing the playoffs entirely.
"We're looking at every game like a playoff game at this point," said Makenzy Robbe, Wave forward.
Desperate times call for desperate measures — but there's a silver lining. The Wave still controls the eighth and final playoff position in the NWSL standings. But unless the Wave rediscover an offense that has scored just three goals in the past six matches, that hold on a playoff spot could slip away. Players say that's no reason to get discouraged.
"I think we're looking to kind of get back to our roots of who we are as a team. Obviously, we've had some devastating losses, and being able to respond to those is important, and so I think we're just proving to ourselves that we can come out with a win, and that's what we're looking to do," Robbe said.
One thing coach Jonas Eidevall says is working in favor of the Wave is that they remain in control of their playoff destiny, despite the two-month slide.
"We're in a position where we have everything in our own fate. We have control over that, and we like being in that position. We don't need to rely on any other team's results," Eidevall said.
Eidevall is correct. The Wave holds a three-point lead and the tiebreaker on ninth-place North Carolina, meaning two more wins will get the Wave into the postseason.
"We know we've been on the wrong side of small margins, and we know we have a choice. We can either lie down and give up, or we can be standing, keep fighting, keep believing in this, and that's what we're all about," Eidevall said.
On the other side of the coin, the Wave are just four points out of third place, so securing a home playoff match still isn't out of the question. They'll try to turn things around Saturday when they visit the 12th-place Utah Royals.
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