San Diego nearly struck inside the opening six minutes when Ludmila broke in behind the defense, but goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger rushed off her line and blocked the attempt with her left foot to keep the match scoreless.
The Wave threatened again in the 23rd minute after Jaelin Howell’s clearance fell directly to Ludmila inside the penalty area. The Brazilian forward rounded Berger, but her shot rolled just wide of an open net.
Gotham created its first clear chance in the 36th minute when Jaedyn Shaw spun away from pressure and slipped a pass into Jordynn Dudley, whose shot was saved comfortably by Luisa Agudelo.
San Diego broke the deadlock just before halftime. Given too much space in midfield, Barcenas took a touch before unleashing a left-footed strike that soared into the top-right corner, leaving Berger with no chance as the Wave took a 1-0 lead.
The Wave controlled much of the second half, limiting Gotham’s ability to build sustained pressure in the final third while managing possession and tempo.
Gotham introduced Bruninha in the 77th minute for her season debut and first appearance since the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup third-place match against ASFAR. She said afterward she was grateful to be back after a lengthy recovery.
“I’m so happy to be back on the field again,” Bruninha said. “It has been long days and difficult days, but we never gave up. We kept working hard and giving our vibe [and] energy to the team on the field and off the field. To be back with the team means a lot to me.”
The visitors pushed forward late. In the 87th minute, the Bats came close to capitalizing on a mistake from Agudelo, who held onto the ball too long under pressure from Dudley. The forward closed her down quickly and forced the issue, with the ball ultimately going out of play as Gotham nearly created a dangerous opening.
Moments later, Gotham nearly found the equalizer they had been pushing for through a flurry of late chances. Rose Lavelle sparked a swift counterattack that forced Agudelo into a save, conceding a corner. From the ensuing set piece, the delivery created chaos inside the penalty area before the ball fell to Dudley, whose effort sailed just over the crossbar.
San Diego sealed the result in the 90th minute after a rare costly Gotham mistake. Berger raced well off her line to clear a long ball near midfield, but her clearance fell straight to Lia Godfrey. Godfrey quickly slipped a pass to Trinity Byars, who calmly rolled her finish into the empty net from distance to make it 2-0.
After the match, Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said the match was decided by small moments.
“It was a game of details,” Amorós said. “We started the game really well. We had the chance to go ahead. We don’t really take it, and they have a chance and maybe even the momentum a little bit. And then the game was pretty even. We were, in some aspects, in control, but obviously that goal at the end, it was hard to take.”
Amorós said Gotham generated opportunities after the break but lacked the quality to capitalize.
“The second half, the team really pushed forward,” Amorós said. “The momentum was on our side with the chances and the opportunities. Fine margins, decisions, final third – we needed to do better.”
Defender Mandy Freeman echoed her coach’s assessment, saying Gotham must improve both in possession and defensively after an uneven performance.
“We really need to look at how we want to play in possession,” Freeman said. “Tonight, especially, we made a lot of mistakes and were really disconnected.”
She added that Gotham also has to tighten its defensive shape after allowing San Diego to play through the lines too often.
“What we need to work on is our defensive shape,” Freeman said. “They were able to play through us quite a bit, and I don’t think any team ever wants to get played through.”
Gotham will look to bounce back when it travels to face Utah Royals FC on July 10 at America First Field.
