San Diego Wave faces Portland on Latino Heritage Night

For those who have been following the topsy-turvy San Diego Wave season from the start, it’s been nothing short of a telenovela with a never-ending cliffhanger. Despite the off-field distractions and inconsistent play on the pitch, SD Wave still has a pulse for sneaking into the playoffs as the eighth and final seed.

The team, led by interim head coach Landon Donavan, will probably need to go undefeated and with the mindset that a draw is the same as a loss starting with the upcoming match on Saturday evening at Snapdragon Stadium versus the Portland Thorns, which will be part of the team’s annual Latino Heritage Night celebration. This event will feature mariachi music, luchadores, lowriders, and Ballet Folklórico leading up to the big game.

The last time both sides met was on Sept. 18 in the Concacaf W Champions Cup with Maria Sanchez scoring a hat-trick in a 3-2 victory after falling behind by two goals. San Diego then went on to lose 1-0 to the Chicago Red Stars on Sept. 21, which kept the Wave in 12th place and six points behind both Racing Louisville and Bay FC.

Portland is in seventh place with 28 points and has not won a league match since its 1-0 win over SD Wave on July 5 at Providence Park.

What complicates matters for San Diego is that it has to outplay four teams to get the final post-season spot with goal differential not likely to serve as an advantage versus Louisville who it will face at home in the regular season finale. The Wave must also travel twice more to take on the North Carolina Courage on Oct. 5 and Kansas City Current on Oct. 19.

If San Diego Wave manages to make the playoffs somehow, it will be playing with house money and could end up becoming a dark horse primed to upset the favorites including the undefeated Orlando Pride, who it would face in the quarterfinal.

Photo by San Diego Wave