The San Diego Wave defeated the Gotham FC at Red Bull Arena on Sunday, 1-0, to move to 6-1-3 on the season. Here are three takeaways from the win:

Stars Return

The Wave saw key players Naomi Girma and Alex Morgan return to the lineup to help propel them to a pivotal win to move them into first place in the standings, tied with the Portland Thorns. These two pivotal players helped clean up the poor performance following Wednesday’s Cup play defeat. Alex Morgan also drew the largest attendance in Gotham FC history as she continues to bring out large audiences whenever she is on the pitch.

The Subs 

Coach Casey Stoney made some critical adjustments at the half to help the wave overcome the 61-39 time of possession in favor of Gotham FC. Substitute Makenzy Doniak put in the Wave’s lone goal with a beautiful assist by the 18-year-old star Jaedyn Shaw. Without those two who came off the bench, the Wave could have returned from New Jersey with a draw. The Wave had to take advantage of their limited chances as few were given throughout the game. There were only 9 shots and one corner taken by the Wave all game. 

The Defensive Unit

The defense was the reason the Wave was able to come away victorious to make it 3 straight road wins for the team. The tandem defenders of Naomi Girma and Kaleigh Riehl played a huge role in the success of the Wave’s defense. Gotham had 15 shots with only 3 being on target. The role of the defense made goalie Kailen Sheridan’s job way less difficult. With the offense being sloppy at times with 8 offsides the defense stepped up huge in the win. 

The Wave hope to keep up the hot streak on the road as they travel to Louisville Friday night for a regular season contest at 5 PM.