Boston Legacy FC will face the San Diego Wave at Gillette Stadium on Friday before breaking for the international window.
The Swans are still seeking their first win of the season, and though the team is inching closer after scoring its first goal last week, the second-ranked Wave will surely present a challenge.
The Legacy will again be without defenders Laís Araújo, Nicki Hernandez, and Kaká, who was recently put on the 45-day injury list, as they recover from injuries. Ella Stevens will be serving a one-game suspension after the NWSL Discipline Committee reviewed the incident that resulted in a yellow card from last week’s Royals game.
The Wave is on a three-game win streak and has recorded seven goals over four matches. All the goals have been scored by the same trio: Dudinha, Lia Godfrey, and Melanie Barcenas.
Dudinha is starting her first full season with the Wave after signing last summer. She made her debut in August and got right to work, scoring five goals over 11 appearances. This was enough to tie for the team’s top scorer last season. The Brazilian has continued her success this season, scoring two goals and providing three assists.
Godfrey has made one of the biggest impacts on the team so far and is a major threat in the final third. The three game-winning goals that she scored over four games were enough to secure the Rookie of the Month title for March.
Barcenas has been with the Wave since she was 15-years-old and is perhaps best known for her fancy footwork. The now 18-year-old has already scored two goals coming off the bench. Competition is steep at this club and the San Diego native seems like she’s making a case to break into the starting lineup.
Five Wave players will be unavailable for the game due to injury, including newly-signed Catarina Macario, who has yet to make her NWSL debut.
Though the Legacy is currently at the bottom of the table, head coach Filipa Patão is not concerned about when they’ll get their first win or the next goal, but more so on the quality of the game they’re playing. The focus now is to make sure her players are improving.
When it comes to the competition, the coach knows it will be a tough game.
“[The Wave] have a great quality with the ball within possession,” she told media. “I think the secret is [to] put that team out of possession [longer], because they're not comfortable when they are not with the ball.”
Both teams have kept more possession of the ball against their opponents in all but one game.
The Newbies
There are several players who have yet to get minutes. Chloe Ricketts is coming out of an injury, Araújo is still sidelined, and Emerson Elgin and Sophia Lowenberg are still on the bench.
Patão told The Blazing Musket that the opportunities will come eventually, and said the players who have yet to see the field need to be ready. Laurel Ansbrow, for example, was tapped to fill in the backline when starting defenders were unavailable. Her performance against the Dash proved that she could handle the responsibility.
“ I think young players just need to feel the confidence and the coaches need to show that we trust in the player,” the coach later said.
All players, no matter the age, will make mistakes. Patão does not fault her squad for that, and instead looks for signs that they’re ready to play on the big stage: resilience, continuation of play, and the ability to think ahead.
Predictions
The starting lineups and formations still feel unpredictable, and it doesn’t help that the team remains without several defenders. It would make sense to stick to a similar formation as last week and go with a 3-5-2: I think it’s time the Traoré/Amanda Gutierres combination gets its solo moment up top.
Friday will be a big test for the defense considering how powerful San Diego’s strikers are. We’ll likely see the center midfielders shift down to activate the five-back we’ve seen while the team’s out of possession.
My guess for Friday’s starting XI:
Boston Legacy FC will face the San Diego Wave at 7 p.m. on Friday.
