SAN DIEGO – Alex Morgan played in her first game since returning from the World Cup. Her Team USA teammate, Naomi Girma did not take the field Saturday but was available as a sub in the victory.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

Defense wins games

With the squad almost back to full strength the defense shined in the 2-1 victory. Despite only having 38% of possession time the Wave did a great job of not allowing the opposition in the box. That would be until the added time where Gotham made it close scoring a goal in the 102nd minute. Despite giving up the late goal the Wave had a great night defensively. 

Capitalizing

In far less opportunity than Gotham, the Wave capitalized on their limited chances tonight. With only 6 shots on the night, the Wave scored on 2 of their attempts. They also only had two corner-kick attempts. This was a big win as the Wave was struggling without their star players. With them back the Wave will look to climb back up into the standings for a good playoff position. 

Home sweet home

Saturday’s game was the Waves’ first game back since Aug. 5 when they drew against Angel City FC, 1-1. San Diego has not lost at Snapdragon Stadium since June 24 when they fell to OL Reign, 2-1.