Wave tops Pride, 2-1, to secure NWSL playoff berth, second place position in standings

The San Diego Wave will be returning to the National Women Soccer League playoffs after defeating the host Orlando Pride, 2-1, on Oct. 2. The road win improved the Wave’s record to 16-8-3 with 51 standings points — good for second place in the 16-team table.

Orlando slipped to 10-14-3 with 33 points.

The top eight teams in the standings qualify for the playoffs.

The Wave did not waste time in making a statement in front of 8,672 fans in Florida.

Lia Godfrey opened the scoring in the fourth minute after Trinity Byars held up play and set her up inside the box. The goal was Godfrey’s sixth of the season, while Byars recorded her 13th goal contribution of the year, the second-most in a single season in Wave FC history. Gia Corley doubled the lead in the 22nd minute, finishing a rebound for her second goal in consecutive road matches and third in her last four appearances.

Orlando pulled one back from the penalty spot early in the second half, but Wave FC continued to create chances, including a Byars effort that forced a save and a Laurina Fazer strike off the crossbar. San Diego held firm through the closing stages to secure the victory and officially clinch its place in the 2026 NWSL playoffs.

The Wave trails defending champion Gotham FC (16-4-7, 55 points) by four standings points and leads the third place Washington Spirit (15-8-4, 29 points) by two points. The Utah Royals (14-9-4, 46 points) lie five points behind San Diego in fourth place.

The top four teams in the standings receive home field advantage in the playoffs.

It’s a dogfight from there as six teams are separated by six standings points, including five teams by four points. The KC Current (13-9-5) leads the group in fifth place with 44 points — one point ahead of Angel City FC (12-8-7, 43 points) and the Portland Thorns (12-8-7), both with 43 points. 

North Carolina (13-11-3, 42 points) holds down the final playoff berth at present but is being chased by the Seattle Reign (12-11-4, 40 points) and Denver Summit (10-9-3, 38 points).

The remaining six teams in the standings own sub-0.500 records. 

Next on the schedule: Following the international FIFA window, NWSL regular season play will resume on Saturday, Oct. 17, when the Wave FC travels to face the Courage in North Carolina (4 p.m. PT). The match will be broadcast live on NWSL+.

Match notes: 
The Wave became the the second team to clinch a playoff berth.

San Diego clinched a spot in the NWSL playoffs for the fourth time in its five seasons, just the third club in NWSL history to do so. 

San Diego snapped a five-match winless streak against Orlando Pride in league action dating to Aug. 25, 2023 

San Diego has won eight games on the road in 2026; extending the single season record for the club. 

·San Diego has scored four goals inside the opening five minutes of the match this season, the most of any NWSL team. 

The Wave improved to 14-0-3 when scoring first this season. 

Wave FC have a record of 11-0-3 when leading teams at halftime. 

·San Diego is 43-1-6 when scoring two or more goals in a regular-season match.