SAN DIEGO — The star power was dimmed a bit on Friday night at Snapdragon Stadium.
Both the Orlando Pride and the San Diego Wave were missing key players in a match that had playoff implications.
Both teams tallied a goal in the first 10 minutes, but Carson Pickett scored the tiebreaking goal in the 54th minute for the Pride, and the Wave’s season-long struggles at home continued in front of 11,660 rowdy fans.
The Pride (9-8-5, 32 points) snapped a nine-game winless streak (0-5-4) in NWSL matches and are now fourth in the standings, one point above the Wave.
Delphine Cascarino (lower leg), Savannah McCaskill (foot) and Gia Corley (yellow-card suspension) all were unavailable for San Diego, and Orlando was without its captain, Brazilian icon Marta (back), in addition to scoring star Barbra Banda.
Cascarino and Corley are two of the more productive pieces in Wave coach Jonas Eidevall’s varied attack. Cascarino is tied for first in the NWSL with five assists. Corley has contributed two goals and two assists.
Mexico national team member Jacqueline Ovalle got the scoring started in the seventh minute, taking a pinpoint pass from Ally Watt, and using her left foot to beat DiDi Haračić for her first goal with the Pride.
Two minutes later, Dudinha answered for the Wave by intercepting a pass from Orlando goalie Anna Moorhouse, lifting a shot high enough that Moorhouse, despite getting her hand on it, couldn’t keep out of the goal. It was the Brazilian’s first goal with the Wave.
With the score tied 1-1 at halftime, Pride coach Seb Hines subbed out Julie Doyle for Pickett. Oihane Hernandez found a sprinting Pickett in the middle of the field and placed a perfect pass on her. The defender responded by finishing her second goal of the season.
San Diego (8-7-7, 31 points) had several opportunities to tie the match, but Moorhouse wouldn’t allow it.
She finished with five saves, mostly of the spectacular variety, including two in succession in the 74th minute, halting Kimmi Ascanio and Kenza Dali from scoring the equalizer.
The Wave dominated in shots (16-9) and shots on goal (6-2).
Orlando is unbeaten (3-0-1) at San Diego with an overall series lead of 5-1-2, including a 2-1 win over the Wave earlier this season at Inter&Co Stadium. Marta had the game-winning penalty kick in that matchup.
The top eight teams in the NWSL standings make the playoffs. With four regular-season matches remaining, the Wave are in a tie for fifth place but just three points ahead of the eighth and final playoff team.
Originally Published: September 27, 2025 at 1:41 AM EDT