San Diego Wave FC
Full nameSan Diego Wave Fútbol Club
Nickname(s)Wave FC
FoundedJune 8, 2021 (2021-06-08)
StadiumSnapdragon Stadium
San Diego, California
Capacity32,000
OwnerRon Burkle
PresidentJill Ellis
Head coachCasey Stoney
LeagueNational Women's Soccer League
20231st of 12
WebsiteClub website

San Diego Wave Fútbol Club, commonly referred to as Wave FC, or simply the Wave, is an American professional women's soccer team based in San Diego, California. The club competes in the National Women's Soccer League as an expansion team that began play in the 2022 season. Wave FC is owned by American businessman Ron Burkle.

The Wave won the NWSL Shield with the league's best record in the 2023 season. This is the team's first trophy.[1]

History

The club 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.[2]

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.[3] 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.[4] On November 9, it was announced the club would be called Wave Fútbol Club.[5]

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 club 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 club 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.

2023

In the 2023 season, San Diego 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 San Diego 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.[6]

2024

In the 2024 NWSL Draft, San Diego selected Kennedy Wesley with the 12th pick in the first round and Mya Jones with the 42nd pick in the third round. The Wave had traded away their natural 26th round pick in the second round, 40th pick in the third round[7], and 54th pick in the fourth round.

Colors and crest

Wordmark also used as part of the San Diego Wave FC identity.

On December 15, 2021, the club 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 Wave FC. 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".[8]

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

Stadium

The team 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, for its last two home games of the 2022 season.[9] Wave FC'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.[10]

Players and staff

Current squad

As of November 18, 2023.[11]
No. Pos. Player Nation
1 GK Kailen Sheridan  Canada
2 DF Abby Dahlkemper  United States
4 DF Naomi Girma  United States
5 MF Emily van Egmond  Australia
6 FW Kelsey Turnbow  United States
7 FW Amirah Ali  United States
8 MF Sierra Enge  United States
10 FW Sofia Jakobsson  Sweden
11 FW Jaedyn Shaw  United States
12 MF Giovanna DeMarco  United States
13 FW Alex Morgan  United States
14 DF Kristen McNabb  United States
15 MF Makenzy Doniak  United States
17 GK Lauren Brzykcy  United States
19 FW Kyra Carusa  Republic of Ireland
20 DF Christen Westphal  United States
22 MF Taylor Kornieck  United States
24 MF Danielle Colaprico  United States
25 FW Melanie Barcenas  United States
26 DF Mia Gyau  United States
28 MF Meggie Dougherty Howard  United States

Coaching staff

As of March 15, 2022.[12]
Position Staff
Head coach Casey Stoney
Assistant coach Rich Gunney
Assistant coach Victoria Boardman
Goalkeeper coach Louis Hunt

Records

Year-by-year

Season League Regular season Playoffs Challenge Cup Avg. attendance
P W D L F A Pts Pos
2022 NWSL 22 10 6 6 32 21 36 3rd Semi-finals Group stage 8,729
2023 22 11 4 7 31 22 37 1st Semi-finals Group stage 20,718

Head coaching record

As of November 5th, 2023

Only competitive matches are counted. Includes NWSL regular season, playoffs, and Challenge Cup matches.

All-time San Diego Wave FC coaching stats
Name Nationality From To P W D L GF GA GD Win%
Casey Stoney  England July 14, 2021 Present 59 24 13 22 79 68 +11 040.68

Honors

References

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ↑ "Girma 1st defender to win U.S. female POTY". ESPN.com. January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  7. ↑ "NWSL offseason trade tracker: San Diego Wave bring back Sierra Enge, land Elyse Bennett in trades". CBSSports.com. December 20, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  8. ↑ "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.
  9. ↑ "NWSL expansion team San Diego Wave FC unveil official crest". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on March 11, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ "Roster". San Diego Wave FC. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Wave FC Announces Complete Roster Ahead of 2022 Challenge Cup". sandiegowavefc.com. San Diego Wave FC. March 15, 2022. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
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