SAN DIEGO -- San Diego Wave coach Jonas Eidevall remained hopeful after an unexpected 1-0 loss at home to underdogs Utah Royals in the quarterfinal stage of the NWSL playoffs, noting that he wouldn't let the defeat blemish his team's second-place finish in the regular season.
"I choose to see the positives and optimistic things from the season, and I refuse to let this game define our season," said the coach after losing to the No. 7 ranked Utah.
"Even if it hurts so much now, I refuse to let that define our season. Our season has been a beautiful season, and the players deserve to be celebrated for it."
San Diego, despite 63% possession and 16 shots in total, were unable to sneak anything past Utah goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn, who finished with four saves.
"We created so many chances," said Wave defender Kennedy Wesley post-game.
"I think that's been a common theme for us throughout our season. It came down to the margins and the details, and it just didn't go our way this time." Wesley lamented the opportunities that Wave had in front of a friendly crowd at Snapdragon Stadium.
"I think if we were maybe more on the front foot and we had the first goal, the game could have been very different. So it does come down to finishing our opportunities."
Nonetheless, after finishing with an 18W-4D-8L record that held San Diego just three points shy of a joint position at the top of the table, Eidevall was also blunt about the exit in the first stage of the playoffs.
"We're obviously very disappointed with the result, also with our performance here. This was not the ending that we had envisioned," said the coach.
"You can also lose against any team if you're not having your best day. So it hurts a lot, and we need to use this here as fuel for how we build and how we come back next season."
Utah will now move onto the semifinal in which they will await the winners of #3 Washington Spirit vs. #6 Portland Thorns.
Elsewhere in the quarterfinal bracket, #1 Gotham FC will take on #8 Seattle Reign, while #4 Kansas City Current will face #5 Angel City.
