The 2022 San Diego Wave FC season was the inaugural season for San Diego Wave FC, a professional women's soccer team based in San Diego, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
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. 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.
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. 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.
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.
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. Stoney subsequently hired Rich Gunney from Portland Thorns FC and Victoria Boardman from Beach FC as assistants familiar with the NWSL and collegiate talent. 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 record as manager from 2018 to 2021, including the FA Women's Championship title and promotion to the Women's Super League in 2019. 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. Visa issues required Stoney to leave her partner and children in England for the job.
The team revealed its crest and colors on December 15, 2021.
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. 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.
The Wave train at Surf Sports Park in Del Mar, California. 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.
Team
Squad
No.Pos.NationPlayer
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. 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. 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. 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.
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 . The team conceded five goals within 15 minutes of the start of four of its matches. 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.
Divisional standings
Squad statistics
Appearances and goals
Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances after the + symbol where applicable.
! colspan=14 ! style="background:#f72ac7; color:#fff; border:2px solid #2597d9; text-align:center;" |Goalkeepers
! colspan=14 ! style="background:#f72ac7; color:#fff; border:2px solid #2597d9; text-align:center;" |Defenders
! colspan=14 ! style="background:#f72ac7; color:#fff; border:2px solid #2597d9; text-align:center;" |Midfielders
! colspan=14 ! style="background:#f72ac7; color:#fff; border:2px solid #2597d9; text-align:center;" |Forwards
|colspan="14"|Players who appeared for the club but left during the season:
Goalscorers
Name NWSL Playoffs Total 1 13 FW 15 1 4 20 2 22 MF 3 1 1 5 3 14 DF/MF 3 0 0 3 11 FW 3 0 0 3 7 FW 2 0 1 3 15 FW 3 0 0 3 7 23 MF 1 0 1 2 18 DF 1 0 1 2 9 FW 1 0 1 2 10 10 FW 1 0 0 1 5 MF 0 1 0 1 Total 31 3 9 43
Shutouts
Name NWSL Playoffs 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
MonthPlayerRef. May Alex Morgan
Rookie of the Month
MonthPlayerRef. May Naomi Girma
Team of the Month
Month Players Ref. May Naomi Girma Taylor Kornieck Alex Morgan June Naomi Girma Taylor Kornieck Alex Morgan August Naomi Girma
NWSL Weekly Awards
Player of the Week
Week Player Ref. 2 Alex Morgan 7 Taylor Kornieck 8 Alex Morgan 15 Makenzy Doniak 18 Kailen Sheridan
Save of the Week
Week Player Ref. 12 Kailen Sheridan
Transactions
2022 NWSL Expansion Draft
The 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft was held on December 16, 2021. Blue highlights indicate United States federation players.
PickNat.PlayerPrevious teamRef.2 Kristie Mewis MF Houston Dash 4 Kristen McNabb DF OL Reign 6 PASS 8 PASS 9 Kaleigh Riehl DF Racing Louisville FC
2022 NWSL Draft Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. The 2022 NWSL Draft was held on December 18, 2021.
Round Pick Player College Status 11 Naomi Girma DF Stanford Signed 9 Marleen Schimmer FW Grand Canyon Signed 2 25 Sydney Pulver MF Washington State Signed 3 27 Belle Briede MF Stanford Signed 4 40 Kayla Bruster DF Georgia Signed
Transfers in Date Player 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. 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. 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. 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. Katie Johnson FW Kelsey Turnbow FW 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. December 10, 2021 Angharad James MF North Carolina Courage Acquired in a trade in exchange for protection in the upcoming 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft. 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. 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. Amirah Ali FW January 15, 2022 Sofia Jakobsson FW Bayern Munich Transfer with fee from Bayern Munich. January 16, 2022 Mia Gyau DF Duke Blue Devils Free agent signing. 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. Taylor Kornieck MF January 24, 2022 Carly Telford GK Chelsea Free agent signing. 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. June 1, 2022 Sydney Cummings DF Georgetown Hoyas Signed as National Team Replacement Player. June 1, 2022 Sarah SodomaFW Arkansas State Red Wolves Signed as National Team Replacement Player. July 18, 2022 Jaedyn Shaw FW Solar SC Signed via discovery to a one-year contract. July 25, 2022 Madison Pogarch DF Portland Thorns FC Acquired in a trade in exchange for Tegan McGrady.
Transfers out Date Player Destination club Fee/notes Ref. December 16, 2021 Kristie MewisMF NJ/NY Gotham FC Traded in exchange for $200,000 in allocation money. December 16, 2021 Angharad James MF Orlando Pride Traded with $275,000 of allocation money in exchange for Alex Morgan. July 25, 2022 Tegan McGrady DF Portland Thorns FC Traded in exchange for Madison Pogarch.
Preseason trialists Trialists are non-rostered invitees during preseason and are not automatically signed. The Wave released their preseason roster on January 31, 2022.
Player Position Previous team Melissa LowderGK Santa Clara Broncos Emory WegenerGK Georgia Bulldogs Taylor HansenDF Montana Grizzlies Megan ReidDF Lamorinda United, Virginia Cavaliers Meleana ShimMF Houston Dash (retirement) Sydney ZandiMF Virginia Cavaliers Taylor PorterMF Portland Thorns FC Ru MuchereraFW KuPS Sarah SodomaFW Arkansas Razorbacks Emerson LayneFW TCU Horned Frogs
See also 2022 National Women's Soccer League season 2022 in American soccer
References