Inaccurate shooting undermined the San Diego Wave on Saturday night, shortchanging an otherwise improved road performance in which they outshot the Chicago Red Stars 18 to 9 and won the possession game by 20 points.
The Wave attempted some 20 shots within the scoring box, an extraordinary total.
But only three of their 28 attempts were on frame and six shots cleared the crossbar, resulting in a 1-0 defeat that kept 12th-place San Diego from building on last week’s first win in 12 matches.
“Those goals will come,” Wave forward Makenzy Doniak said. “That’s sometimes how the game goes.”
Wave rookie Mya Jones hit the crossbar in the 29th minute, but most of the Wave’s shots didn’t come very close.
“I’m really, really proud of the effort and how we played,” said interim coach Landon Donovan. “We played like the home team. I asked them to and we played like the home team. It’s frustrating. We deserved better out of the game, but that’s part of this sport that’s unique to this sport.”
Donovan, a former prolific scorer with the U.S. national team and Major League Soccer, said the shooting will improve as the Wave become more accustomed to generating a high number of chances within the 18-yard box.
He said drills can improve shooting, and that he’ll devote more time to “turn and shoot” drills to sharpen skills on “scramble-type plays” in the box.
“We will keep working on it, so you can work on it,” he said, “but sometimes this sport, it’s cruel, it’s a cruel game.”
The finishing touch in the 12th minute by Red Stars forward Ludmila, a one-name import from Brazil who netted a 7-yard header after sneaking past Wave defender Perle Morronne, contrasted the Wave’s efforts.
San Diego, which trails Bay FC and Racing Louisville by six points for the final playoff spot with five matches left, will return home Saturday to face Portland.
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