Match Preview: San Diego Wave vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC

San Diego Wave FC (5-3-1, 16 points) is back on the road as they take on NJ/NY Gotham FC (5-2-2, 17 points) this Sunday, June 4, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. The match will air nationally on the CBS Sports Network with kickoff slated for 3:00 p.m. PT.

San Diego and NJ/NY Gotham met twice in the 2022 regular season, with the Wave coming out on top both times (2-0-0.) In their first meeting, forward Alex Morgan helped the Wave shutout Gotham FC by scoring four goals. The first came in the added minutes of the first half, then three others came in the second half with Morgan’s second and third goals being four minutes apart. This four-goal-match is an NWSL career high for Morgan and the third time in NWSL history that a player has scored four goals in a contest.

A little over a month later, San Diego defeated Gotham 3-0 once again, but in New Jersey with two first-half goals from Morgan and another from midfielder Makenzy Doniak in the 68th minute.

These six goals from Morgan equal the most goals against a single opponent in a season in NWSL history, tied with Lynn Williams, who scored 6 times against the former Boston Breakers in 2016.

Gotham FC are off to their best season start since 2013, currently sitting at the top of the standings coming off the 2022 season, where they finished in last place. Gotham has conceded just six times over its last nine games in all competitions, keeping four clean sheets in that time.

Last week, San Diego had a late-game draw on Friday night against the Portland Thorns where forward Sofia Jakobsson scored in the 86th minute to record the first goal of the match, but the Thorns went on to tie the game in the 90th minute. The Wave also faced OL Reign in the Challenge Cup on Wednesday night, where they lost 0-3. Heading into Sunday’s match, the Wave have won its last two road games, winning 2-0 in Kansas City and 3-0 in Houston, and the team will look to continue this road-win streak.