San Diego Wave FC

2022 season
Owner	Ron Burkle
President	Jill Ellis
Head Coach	Casey Stoney
Stadium	Torero Stadium (until Sept. 17, 2022) Snapdragon Stadium (from Sept. 17, 2022)
NWSL	3rd
Challenge Cup	3rd in West Division
Playoffs	Semi-finals
Top goalscorer	League: Alex Morgan (12) All: Alex Morgan (16)
Highest home attendance	32,000 (vs. ANG, Sep. 17)
Lowest home attendance	4,418 (vs. ORL, Aug. 13)
Average home league attendance	8,729
Biggest win	4–0 (May 7 vs. NJ/NY)
Biggest defeat	0–1 (3 times)
Home colors Away colors
← Inaugural season 2023 →
All statistics correct as of October 23, 2022.

The 2022 San Diego Wave FC season was San Diego Wave FC's inaugural season as a professional women's soccer team. It plays in the National Women's Soccer League. ^[1]

Background

In January 2021, Lisa Baird, commissioner of the National Women's Soccer League, announced that an expansion team in Sacramento, California, led by Pittsburgh Penguins owner Ron Burkle and in conjunction with Sacramento Republic FC's expansion bid into Major League Soccer, would join the NWSL in 2022. ^[2] 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. Burkle named co-investor Matt Alvarez as his representative in the NWSL project. ^{[3] [4]}

The club hired former United States women's national soccer team coach Jill Ellis, who had retired from coaching after winning her second, and the United States's fourth, FIFA Women's World Cup championship. Ellis said Burkle had sought her advice about NWSL expansion in 2021. ^[4] Ellis relocated from Miami, Florida, to San Diego for the job, and described her involvement in soccer matters at the club as "minimal"; she said most of her time was spent on club business and operations. By April 1, 2021, the club had hired 45 employees. ^[5]

On July 12, 2021, the Wave announced Ellis's hiring of Molly Downtain, a former United States women's national team administrator who worked with Ellis from 2015 to 2019, as general manager. ^[6]

On July 14, 2021, Ellis announced the hiring of former England women's national football team captain and Manchester United W.F.C. manager Casey Stoney as the Wave's first head coach. ^[7] Stoney subsequently hired Rich Gunney from Portland Thorns FC and Victoria Boardman from Beach FC as assistants familiar with the NWSL and collegiate talent. ^[8] Stoney had also been named Manchester United's first manager for the women's side, making the Wave the second club with no prior roster or staff that she had managed; she led United to a 52–19–6 record as manager from 2018 to 2021, including the FA Women's Championship title and promotion to the Women's Super League in 2019. ^{[7] [9]} Stoney cited the building process as part of her motivation to join the Wave, and noted that the Wave was a standalone organization, not a smaller division of a men's side as United had been. ^[10] Visa issues required Stoney to leave her partner and children in England for the job. ^[11]

The team revealed its crest and colors on December 15, 2021. ^[12]

Stadium

The team began play at 6,000-capacity Torero Stadium, on the campus of the University of San Diego, for the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup and the first nine home matches of the 2022 National Women's Soccer League season. Torero also served as the venue for the previous professional women's soccer team in San Diego, the San Diego Spirit of the Women's United Soccer Association, from 2001 to 2003. ^{[4] [13]} The team scheduled its last two regular season home matches at Snapdragon Stadium, which opened in September 2022 in the Mission Valley campus extension of San Diego State University, and announced in December 2021 that Snapdragon Stadium would become the club's permanent home. ^{[12] [14] [15]}

The Wave train at Surf Sports Park in Del Mar, California. ^{[16] [17]} Neighbors of the park commented in public meetings with concerns about the Wave's training as a sign of overcommitment of public space to sports usage, including traffic, dust, noise, and signage complaints. ^[18]

Team

Squad

As of August 2, 2022. ^{[19] [20] [21]}

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	MF	Kelsey Turnbow	United States
7	FW	Amirah Ali	United States
9	FW	Jodie Taylor	England
10	FW	Sofia Jakobsson	Sweden
11	FW	Jaedyn Shaw	United States
13	FW	Alex Morgan	United States
14	MF	Kristen McNabb	United States
15	FW	Makenzy Doniak	United States
16	DF	Madison Pogarch	United States
17	MF	Sydney Pulver	United States
18	DF	Kaleigh Riehl	United States
20	DF	Christen Westphal	United States
21	GK	Carly Telford	England
22	MF	Taylor Kornieck	United States
23	MF	Belle Briede	United States
24	FW	Sarah Sodoma	United States
25	DF	Kayla Bruster	United States
26	DF	Mia Gyau	United States
27	FW	Marleen Schimmer	Germany
29	DF	Taylor Hansen	United States
31	GK	Melissa Lowder	United States
33	FW	Katie Johnson	Mexico
35	MF	Jackie Altschuld	United States
37	DF	Sydney Cummings	United States

Competitions

Regular season

The Wave opened their first regular season with a 1–0 road win over Houston Dash, with Jodie Taylor scoring the club's first regular-season goal in the 87th minute. ^[22] The Dash's coach and general manager, James Clarkson, had been suspended prior to the match pending league and team investigations into complaints of discrimination and harassment, making Stoney the NWSL's manager with the longest uninterrupted tenure prior to her first match as San Diego's manager. ^[23] The Wave's regular season home opener on May 7, 2022, at Torero Stadium was a 4–0 win over NJ/NY Gotham FC, with the venue sold out of 5,000 tickets. ^[13] Wave FC's Snapdragon Stadium opener on September 17, a 1–0 win over Angel City FC, was a sellout of 32,000, setting a new NWSL single-game attendance record. ^[24]

Regular season standings

Results summary

Results by matchday

Playoffs

NWSL Challenge Cup

The Wave's first NWSL Challenge Cup ended in the group stage, with a West Division record of 1–3–2. The team conceded five goals within 15 minutes of the start of four of its matches. ^[33] The club's first victory in any competition was on April 2, 2022, a 4–2 win against fellow Californian expansion team Angel City FC. ^[34]

Divisional standings

Squad statistics

Goalscorers

As of match played October 23, 2022. ^{[35] [36]}

Rank	No.	Pos.	Ntn.	Name	NWSL	Playoffs	Cup	Total
1	13	FW		Alex Morgan	15	1	4	20
2	22	MF		Taylor Kornieck	3	1	1	5
3	14	DF/MF		Kristen McNabb	3	0	0	3
	11	FW		Jaedyn Shaw	3	0	0	3
	7	FW		Amirah Ali	2	0	1	3
	15	FW		Makenzy Doniak	3	0	0	3
7	23	MF		Belle Briede	1	0	1	2
	18	DF		Kaleigh Riehl	1	0	1	2
	9	FW		Jodie Taylor	1	0	1	2
10	10	FW		Sofia Jakobsson	1	0	0	1
	5	MF		Emily van Egmond	0	1	0	1
Total					31	3	9	43

Shutouts

As of match played October 23, 2022. ^[35]

Rank	No.	Pos.	Name	NWSL	Playoffs	Cup	Total
1	1	GK	Kailen Sheridan	8	0	0	8
2	21	GK	Carly Telford	1	0	0	1
Total				9	0	0	9

Awards

NWSL Monthly Awards

Player of the Month

Month	Player	Ref.
May	Alex Morgan	[37]

Rookie of the Month

Month	Player	Ref.
May	Naomi Girma	[38]

Team of the Month

Month	Players	Ref.
May	Naomi Girma Taylor Kornieck Alex Morgan	[38]
June	Naomi Girma Taylor Kornieck Alex Morgan	[39]
August	Naomi Girma	[40]

NWSL Weekly Awards

Player of the Week

Week	Player	Ref.
2	Alex Morgan	[41]
7	Taylor Kornieck	[42] [43]
8	Alex Morgan	[44]
15	Makenzy Doniak	[45]
18	Kailen Sheridan	[46]

Save of the Week

Week	Player	Ref.
12	Kailen Sheridan	[47]

Transactions

2022 NWSL Expansion Draft

The 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft was held on December 16, 2021. ^[48] Blue highlights indicate United States federation players.

Pick	Nat.	Player	Pos.	Previous team	Ref.
2		Kristie Mewis	MF	Houston Dash	[49]
4		Kristen McNabb	DF	OL Reign	[50]
6	PASS				[51]
8	PASS				[52]
9		Kaleigh Riehl	DF	Racing Louisville FC	[53]

2022 NWSL Draft

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. The 2022 NWSL Draft was held on December 18, 2021. ^[54]

Round	Pick	Player	Pos.	College	Status
1	1	Naomi Girma	DF	Stanford	Signed [55]
	9	Marleen Schimmer	FW	Grand Canyon	Signed [56]
2	25	Sydney Pulver	MF	Washington State	Signed [57]
3	27	Belle Briede	MF	Stanford	Signed[ citation needed]
4	40	Kayla Bruster	DF	Georgia	Signed[ citation needed]

Transfers in

Date	Player	Pos.	Previous club	Fee/notes	Ref.
November 22, 2021	Abby Dahlkemper	DF	North Carolina Courage	Acquired in a trade in exchange for $190,000 in allocation money and San Diego's natural 1st-round selection in the 2023 NWSL Draft.	[58] [59] [60] [61]
December 1, 2021	Jodie Taylor	FW	Orlando Pride	Acquired in a trade in exchange for San Diego's natural 2nd-round 2023 NWSL Draft pick, natural 3rd-round 2023 NWSL Draft pick, or allocation money, pending conditions met.	[62] [63] [64]
December 1, 2021	Tegan McGrady	DF	Washington Spirit	Acquired in a trade with an international spot in 2022 and Washington's natural 1st-round 2022 NWSL Draft pick, in exchange for full protection in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft.	[65]
December 2, 2021	Makenzy Doniak	FW	Chicago Red Stars	Acquired in a trade in exchange for allocation money and protection in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft.	[66]
	Katie Johnson	FW			[66]
	Kelsey Turnbow	FW			[66]
December 4, 2021	Kailen Sheridan	GK	NJ/NY Gotham FC	Acquired in a trade in exchange for $130,000 in allocation money and protection in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft.	[67] [68]
December 10, 2021	Angharad James	MF	North Carolina Courage	Acquired in a trade in exchange for protection in the upcoming 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft.	[69] [70]
December 13, 2021	Alex Morgan	FW	Orlando Pride	Acquired in a trade in exchange for $275,000 in allocation money and player rights to Angharad James.	[71] [72] [73]
December 16, 2021	Christen Westphal	DF	Portland Thorns FC	Acquired in a trade in exchange for $50,000 in allocation money and protection in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft.	[74] [75]
	Amirah Ali	FW			[74]
January 15, 2022	Sofia Jakobsson	FW	Bayern Munich	Transfer with fee from Bayern Munich.	[76] [77]
January 16, 2022	Mia Gyau	DF	Duke Blue Devils	Free agent signing.	[78] [79]
January 18, 2022	Emily van Egmond	MF	Orlando Pride	Acquired in a trade in exchange for $125,000 of allocation money, with potential additional funds pending conditions met, and San Diego's natural 2nd round pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft.	[79] [80]
	Taylor Kornieck	MF			[79] [80]
January 24, 2022	Carly Telford	GK	Chelsea	Free agent signing.	[81] [82]
June 1, 2022	Jackie Altschuld	MF	Tindastóll	Signed as National Team Replacement Player. Signed to a standard player agreement for the remainder of the season on August 25, 2022.	[83] [84]
June 1, 2022	Sydney Cummings	DF	Georgetown Hoyas	Signed as National Team Replacement Player.	[83]
June 1, 2022	Sarah Sodoma	FW	Arkansas State Red Wolves	Signed as National Team Replacement Player.	[83]
July 18, 2022	Jaedyn Shaw	FW	Solar SC	Signed via discovery to a one-year contract.	[85]
July 25, 2022	Madison Pogarch	DF	Portland Thorns FC	Acquired in a trade in exchange for Tegan McGrady.	[86] [87]

Transfers out

Date	Player	Pos.	Destination club	Fee/notes	Ref.
December 16, 2021	Kristie Mewis	MF	NJ/NY Gotham FC	Traded in exchange for $200,000 in allocation money.	[88]
December 16, 2021	Angharad James	MF	Orlando Pride	Traded with $275,000 of allocation money in exchange for Alex Morgan.	[71] [72] [73]
July 25, 2022	Tegan McGrady	DF	Portland Thorns FC	Traded in exchange for Madison Pogarch.	[86] [87]

Preseason trialists

Trialists are non-rostered invitees during preseason and are not automatically signed. The Wave released their preseason roster on January 31, 2022. ^[89]

Player	Position	Previous team
Melissa Lowder [A]	GK	Santa Clara Broncos
Emory Wegener	GK	Georgia Bulldogs
Taylor Hansen [A]	DF	Montana Grizzlies
Megan Reid	DF	Lamorinda United, Virginia Cavaliers
Meleana Shim	MF	Houston Dash (retirement)
Sydney Zandi	MF	Virginia Cavaliers
Taylor Porter	MF	Portland Thorns FC
Ru Mucherera	FW	KuPS
Sarah Sodoma [B]	FW	Arkansas Razorbacks
Emerson Layne	FW	TCU Horned Frogs

See also

• 2022 National Women's Soccer League season
• 2022 in American soccer

References