The 2024 San Diego Wave season won’t adorn any soccer museums.
A subpar team other than the Wave will get the eighth and final playoff berth in the 14-team National Women’s Soccer League, as San Diego (5-13-7) will finish between 10th and last depending on what happens in the (relocated) season finale Sunday in Louisville.
As for the Wave’s performance under interim coach Landon Donovan, this is objectively clear:
The bottom-line results have been worse than under Casey Stoney. However, the Waves offense is more interesting — and effective.
Under Stoney, the Wave gleaned 15 points from 14 matches. Under, Donovan, theyve tallied seven points from nine matches — a decline of about 30 percent per match, from 1.1 to .78.
When team president Jill Ellis fired Stoney on June 24, the Wave stood one point out of the final playoff spot. The gap ballooned to nine points under the two interim coaches — Paul Buckle, who presided over two defeats, and Donovan, who is 2-6-1 heading into Sundays match.
Under Donovan, the defense has gone from good to bad. San Diego has allowed 17 goals in his nine matches after allowing just 13 goals in 14 matches under Stoney.
Twice, Donovan’s Wave have given up four goals. That happened just once in Stoneys 56 regular-season matches.
Still, Ill guess that the Wave retain Donovan — if he wants to return.
Heres why: Ellis wanted to implement a style based on attacking. She has gotten it under Donovan.
The Wave have scored nine goals in nine matches under Donovan after putting up 12 in Stoneys 14 matches.
The offense has become more interesting to watch.
So as a former U.S. National Team coach who won two World Cups, Ellis can assert that Donovan has put in groundwork that in 25 will yield gains in entertainment and goals.
Regardless of who coaches the team next season, Ellis and Camille Ashton, the general manager hired two weeks before Stoneys dismissal, will need to outperform their counterparts.
Roster upgrades are needed, in both skill and speed.
Ellis and Ashton took a promising step in July by signing Delphine Cascarino. The French striker, 27, has the best ball skills of any Wave player since the franchises inception.