Soccer club
 | |||
| Full name | San Diego Wave Fútbol Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | June 8, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-06-08) | ||
| Stadium | Snapdragon Stadium San Diego, California | ||
| Capacity | 35,000 | ||
| Owners | Arthur Levine Lauren Leichtman | ||
| President | Vacant | ||
| Head coach | Vacant | ||
| League | National Women's Soccer League | ||
| 2024 | Regular season: 10th of 14 Playoffs: DNQ | ||
| Website | sandiegowavefc | ||
| |||
 Current season | |||
San Diego Wave Fútbol Club is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team plays its home games at Snapdragon Stadium. The Wave began play in the 2022 season as an expansion team.
The Wave won the NWSL Shield with the league's best record in the 2023 season, the club's first trophy. The club won the NWSL Challenge Cup in its 2024 edition. On March 23, 2024, the club set an NWSL home opener attendance record with 32,066 people in attendance.
History
The team is San Diego's first women's professional soccer team since 2003, when the Women's United Soccer Association folded and forced the San Diego Spirit to disband.
In January 2021, Lisa Baird, the commissioner of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), announced that an expansion team in Sacramento, led by Ron Burkle and in conjunction with Sacramento Republic FC's expansion bid into Major League Soccer, would join the NWSL in 2022. However, Burkle never confirmed the news publicly before exiting the Sacramento Republic's ownership group. Instead, on June 8, 2021, the NWSL announced San Diego as the location for an expansion team owned by Burkle to begin play in 2022. On November 9, it was announced the team would be called Wave Fútbol Club.
2022: Inaugural season
San Diego Wave FC officially began play on March 19, 2022, in the NWSL Challenge Cup against fellow expansion team Angel City FC on the road, where they drew 1-1. They were eliminated from the Challenge Cup after finishing third in their group. The team began their inaugural season on May 1 and opened with three straight wins, sitting on the top of the table for over half the season before finally falling to the KC Current 2–1. Although briefly gaining the top spot twice late in the season, the Wave finished 3rd and qualified for the quarter-finals of the playoffs. After defeating the Chicago Red Stars 2–1, the team traveled to Providence Park to play against the Portland Thorns in the semi-finals, losing 2-1 following a Crystal Dunn goal in the final minutes of the game. Wave members were heavily represented in the end-of-season awards, with Alex Morgan winning the Golden Boot, Kailen Sheridan winning Goalkeeper of the Year, Casey Stoney named as Coach of the Year, Naomi Girma being crowned as both the Defender of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
2023
In the 2023 season, the Wave continued their winning ways, slightly improving upon their record in 2022 and securing the NWSL Shield with two games to spare after beating the Portland Thorns on September 30 and guaranteeing a bye for the playoffs. The Wave faced OL Reign in the semi-finals, losing 1–0 after Veronica Latsko scored in the 47th minute, marking the second year in a row the Wave were eliminated in the semis. Defender Naomi Girma was named U.S. Soccer's Female Player of the Year, recognizing her excellence for the Wave and for the U.S. women's national team.
2024
The Wave kicked off 2024 by winning the Challenge Cup 1–0 over 2023 champion NJ/NY Gotham FC with an 88th minute goal from Alex Morgan. However, during the season, the Wave failed to replicate their successes from prior years. The team finished 10th in the regular season standings and did not qualify for the playoffs for the first time in club history. The Wave also competed in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup and the CONCACAF W Champions Cup, but they failed to make it out of the group stage in both competitions. Amid a 7-game winless streak, the club fired head coach Casey Stoney, who had been part of the Wave since 2022. Stoney was replaced by interim coach Paul Buckle, who led the team through the summer of 2024. After Buckle's departure, Landon Donovan managed the team to the end of the season.
2024 also featured notable off-the-field events in the Wave's history. On March 14, owner Ron Burkle announced the sale of San Diego Wave FC to Lauren Leichtman and Arthur Levine, managers of the Levine Leichtman Capital Partners investment firm, for $113 million and a total (and, at the time, league record) team valuation of $120 million. The new owners immediately paid $35 million for 35% of the team, and paid $78 million for the remaining 65% of the team at the end of the 2024 NWSL season. This represents a large increase in team value from the $2 million Burkle paid just two years previously as an NWSL expansion fee. The Wave also hired Camille Ashton as sporting manager and general manager to replace Molly Downtain, who left in the offseason. Finally, the club hired former USWNT player Shannon MacMillan as Chief Impact Officer on July 1, 2024.
In July, several former Wave employees spoke out on social media, alleging that the club and president Jill Ellis created an unhealthy and abusive work environment. The Wave denied all allegations and threatened legal action against those who spoke out. In mid-October, five former employees filed a lawsuit against the Wave and the NWSL, alleging discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and retaliation.
Colors and crest
On December 15, 2021, the team revealed its crest for its upcoming 2022 season in a press release, stating "the crest, encased in a shield, is a symbol of strength, for the city and team, to proudly stand behind. A powerful wave, cresting in the rich blues of the Pacific Ocean, sits front and center as the iconic mark of the Wave. And under the proud banner of the city’s name, are the vivid colors of the horizon, celebrating the beauty, fun, and vibrant culture of the city and its people".
Sponsorship
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Front sponsor | Back sponsor | Sleeve sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Nike | Kaiser Permanente | Pechanga Resort Casino | Gatorade |
| 2023 | Think Blue San Diego Will Perform |
Bud Light | ||
| 2024 | PenFed Credit Union 24 Hour Fitness |
Dexcom |
Kit history
2022 home
|
2022-23 away
|
2023 home
|
2024 home
|
2024 away
|
Stadium
The club began play at Torero Stadium on the campus of the University of San Diego for its inaugural season. It moved to Snapdragon Stadium, located in the Mission Valley campus expansion of San Diego State University (SDSU), for its last two home games of the 2022 season. The Wave's opener at the new stadium against regional rival and fellow 2022 NWSL entry Angel City FC on September 17 drew a sellout crowd of 32,000, setting a new NWSL single-game attendance record. On On March 23, 2024 the Wave set the current record for NWSL season home opener attendance with 32,066 fans attending their 2-1 loss to the Kansas City Current.
Players and staff
Current squad
As of January 3, 2025.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Kailen Sheridan (Captain) |  Canada
|
| 4 | DF | Naomi Girma |  United States
|
| 6 | DF | Hanna Lundkvist |  Sweden
|
| 11 | FW | Jaedyn Shaw | United States
|
| 12 | DF | Kennedy Wesley | United States
|
| 14 | DF | Kristen McNabb | United States
|
| 15 | FW | Makenzy Doniak | United States
|
| 16 | DF | Kaitlyn Torpey |  Australia
|
| 17 | MF | Kimmi Ascanio | United States
|
| 18 | FW | Mya Jones | Canada
|
| 21 | MF | Savannah McCaskill | United States
|
| 22 | GK | Hillary Beall | United States
|
| 25 | FW | Melanie Barcenas | United States
|
| 69 | FW | Delphine Cascarino |  France
|
| 75 | DF | Perle Morroni | France
|
| 77 | FW | María Sánchez |  Mexico
|
| — | FW | Trinity Byars | United States
|
| — | DF | Quincy McMahon | United States
|
Former players
For details of former players, see Category:San Diego Wave FC players and List of San Diego Wave FC players.
Coaching staff
- As of December 14, 2024.
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Vacant |
| Development Coach | Jackie Bachteler
|
| Assistant Coach/Head of Goalkeeping |  Louis Hunt
|
| Assistant Coach | Craig Barclay
|
| Director of Recruitment and Analytics | Chris Loxton
|
Records
Year-by-year
- As of December 8, 2024
| Season | Regular season | Playoffs | Challenge Cup | Summer Cup | Champions Cup | Top Scorer | Avg. attendance | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Pos | |||||||
| 2022 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 32 | 21 | 36 | 3rd | Semi-finals | Group stage | Not held | Not held | Alex Morgan (12)
|
8,729 |
| 2023 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 31 | 22 | 37 | 1st | Semi-finals | Group stage | Alex Morgan (6)
|
20,718 | ||
| 2024 | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 25 | 35 | 25 | 10th | DNQ | Champions | Group stage | Group stage | Jaedyn Shaw (4)
|
19,575 |
Head coaching record
- As of December 8, 2024
Only competitive matches are counted. Includes NWSL regular season, playoffs, and Challenge Cup matches.
| Name | Nationality | From | To | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casey Stoney | England
|
July 14, 2021 | June 24, 2024 | 65 | 32 | 28 | 94 | 82 | +12 | 52 |
| Paul Buckle (interim) | England
|
June 24, 2024 | August 15, 2024 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 0 |
| Landon Donovan (interim) |  United States
|
August 16, 2024 | November 18, 2024 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 18 | -6 | 30 |
Team records
Further information: List of San Diego Wave FC players- As of December 10, 2024. Current players in bold. Statistics are updated once a year after the conclusion of the NWSL season.
| Player | Appearances | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Nat. | Pos. | Wave career | NWSL | Playoffs | Cup | Cont'l | Other | Total |
| 1 | Christen Westphal |
|
DF | 2022– | 59 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 80 |
| 2 | Makenzy Doniak |
|
FW | 2022– | 61 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 77 |
| 3 | Kristen McNabb |
|
DF | 2022– | 59 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 75 |
| 4 | Kailen Sheridan |
|
GK | 2022– | 62 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 72 |
| Naomi Girma |
|
DF | 2022– | 58 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 72 | |
| 6 | Emily van Egmond |
|
MF | 2022– | 58 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 70 |
| 7 | Amirah Ali |
|
FW | 2022– | 48 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 68 |
| 8 | Alex Morgan |
|
FW | 2022–2024 | 48 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 63 |
| 9 | Jaedyn Shaw |
|
FW | 2022– | 47 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 59 |
| Sofia Jakobsson |
|
FW | 2022–2024 | 45 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 59 | |
| Player | Goals scored | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Nat. | Pos. | Wave career | NWSL | Playoffs | Cup | Cont'l | Other | Total |
| 1 | Alex Morgan |
|
FW | 2022–2024 | 19 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| 2 | Jaedyn Shaw |
|
FW | 2022– | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 3 | Makenzy Doniak |
|
FW | 2022– | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | Amirah Ali |
|
FW | 2022– | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 5 | Taylor Kornieck |
|
MF | 2022–2023 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 6 | María Sánchez |
|
FW | 2024– | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 7 | Kristen McNabb |
|
DF | 2022– | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | Kyra Carusa | 
|
FW | 2023– | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Sofia Jakobsson |
|
FW | 2022–2024 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 10 | Belle Briede |
|
MF | 2022–2023 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Player | Assists | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Nat. | Pos. | Wave career | NWSL | Playoffs | Cup | Cont'l | Other | Total |
| 1 | Alex Morgan |
|
FW | 2022–2024 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | Christen Westphal |
|
DF | 2022– | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | Makenzy Doniak |
|
FW | 2022– | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Sofia Jakobsson |
|
FW | 2022–2024 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| María Sánchez |
|
FW | 2024– | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| Jaedyn Shaw |
|
FW | 2022– | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 7 | Delphine Cascarino |
|
FW | 2024– | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Taylor Kornieck |
|
MF | 2022–2023 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Kelsey Turnbow |
|
MF | 2022–2023 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 10 | Katie Johnson |
|
FW | 2022 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Honors
- NWSL Shield
- Winners (1): 2023
- NWSL Challenge Cup
- Winners (1): 2024
Award winners
Golden Boot
Defender of the Year
Goalkeeper of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Coach of the Year
Best XI First Team
Best XI Second Team
References
- Stone, Chris (October 15, 2023). "San Diego Wave Wins NWSL Shield in Just 2nd Year: No. 1 in Regular Season". Times of San Diego. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
- "Late Morgan header grabs S.D. Challenge Cup win". ESPN.com. March 16, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
- Zeigler, Mark (June 8, 2021). "Women's pro soccer coming to San Diego in 2022". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
- Kassouf, Jeff (June 8, 2021). "San Diego confirmed as 2022 NWSL expansion market; Ellis to serve as team president". The Equalizer. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
- "San Diego To Be Home to NWSL Expansion Team, Led by Jill Ellis as President". NWSL. June 8, 2021. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
- "San Diego NWSL new side to be called Wave FC". November 9, 2021. Archived from the original on September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
- Salazar, Emmanuel (October 17, 2022). "Chicago Red Stars Postseason Run Ends With 2-1 Loss to San Diego". Chicago Red Stars. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- Svilar, Sam (October 23, 2022). "NWSL Semifinal Match Recap & Highlights: Portland Thorns 2 — 1 San Diego Wave". Stumptown Footy. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- "NWSL awards 2022: Portland Thorns star Sophia Smith wins MVP; Naomi Girma wins top rookie and defender". CBSSports.com. October 29, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- "Girma 1st defender to win U.S. female POTY". ESPN.com. January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- NWSL (March 8, 2024). "2024 NWSL Season Opens With UKG NWSL Challenge Cup, Featuring Clash of Champions, Start of Prime Video Coverage | National Women's Soccer League Official Site". NWSL. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- Emerick, Tyler (October 17, 2024). "San Diego Wave FC Falls to Club América Femenil 1-0 in Concacaf W Champions Cup at Snapdragon Stadium". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- Emerick, Tyler (August 2, 2024). "San Diego Wave FC Fall to Angel City FC in Penalty Shootout in NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- "Wave fire Stoney amid 7-game winless streak". ESPN.com. June 24, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- Union-Tribune, Tom Krasovic | The San Diego (June 27, 2024). "Wave will try to rev up scoring, climb standings in first match since coach Casey Stoney's firing". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- "Landon Donovan named SD Wave interim coach". ESPN.com. August 16, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- Linehan, Meg; Staff, The Athletic. "San Diego Wave sold at $120M valuation, an NWSL record". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
- "Source: Wave being sold for NWSL record figure". ESPN.com. March 15, 2024. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
- "San Diego Wave FC name former Kansas City boss Camille Ashton as sporting director, GM". San Diego Union-Tribune. June 12, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- Emerick, Tyler (July 1, 2024). "San Diego Wave FC Announces Shannon Mac Millan as Chief Impact Officer". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
- McDonald, Carrie. "San Diego Wave threatens legal action against former employee, denies allegations of abuse". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- Yang, Steph. "San Diego Wave denounces former employee's allegations of poor work environment under Jill Ellis". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- "Five ex-employees sue San Diego Wave, NWSL". ESPN.com. October 9, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- "5 former employees sue the San Diego Wave and the National Women's Soccer League". AP News. October 10, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- "San Diego Wave FC Unveils Official Team Crest and Colors". www.sandiegowavefc.com (Press release). December 15, 2021. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
- Emerick, Tyler (February 23, 2024). "San Diego Wave FC Announces Extended and Expanded Partnership with 24 Hour Fitness". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- "NWSL expansion team San Diego Wave FC unveil official crest". CBS Sports. December 15, 2021. Archived from the original on March 11, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
- "Match Recap: San Diego tops Angel City in front of capacity crowd for first win at Snapdragon Stadium". National Women's Soccer League. September 18, 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
- Emerick, Tyler (March 24, 2024). "San Diego Wave FC Fall to Kansas City Current 2-1 at Snapdragon Stadium". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- "Roster". San Diego Wave FC.
- "San Diego Wave FC Announces 2024 End-of-Year Roster Decisions". San Diego Wave FC. December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
- "Coaching Staff". San Diego Wave FC. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
- "San Diego Wave FC Provide Update on Vacant Head Coach Position". San Diego Wave FC. November 18, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
- "San Diego Wave FC Stats and History". FBref. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
External links
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