Chicago Red Stars deliver 3-0 loss to San Diego Wave FC to take their losing streak to 7 in a row

If you would have looked at the stat line of this game without looking at the score you would be excused to think that this was a dominant home performance in which San Diego snapped their losing streak and began to put together a convincing playoff hopeful campaign in the back half of the season. This was not the case. With 70% of the possession and leading in every statistical measure SD Wave was poised and pushed the ball with pace and precision off ball pressure from Jaedyn Shaw, and impressive deep runs by Alex Morgan who has continued to look in better form.

However, the 4-2-4 strategy pushed by Paul Buckle exposed a counter attack weakness that was widely exposed by the prolific Mallory Swanson that shredded the midfield with piercing runs that undid the efforts of the Wave offensive line in three defensive lapses that proved to be terminal. This was only compounded by the fact that Wave simply could not find the back of the net on a variety of high quality chances including a penalty miss by Alex Morgan.

Nevertheless, Buckle remained positive in his post-match press conference reflecting positively on the quality of his side. Wave continues to show that it has the offensive mettle to match any side, but lacks the confidence and poise to take matches over the finish line.

The Red Stars on the other hand are continuing to impress with strong outings like tonight. Mallory Swanson’s form is top line as she heads into an Olympic campaign this summer.