The 2022 San Diego Wave FC season is

San Diego Wave FC San Diego Wave FC is a National Women's Soccer League expansion team that began play in 2022. The team is based in San Diego, San Diego, California. The team is owned by Ron Burkle. The team is the San Diego area's first women's professional soc ...

's inaugural season as a professional women's soccer team. It plays in the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

Background

In January 2021,

Lisa Baird Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

, commissioner of the National Women's Soccer League, announced that an expansion team in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, led by

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

owner

Ron Burkle Ronald Wayne Burkle (born November 12, 1952) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and managing partner of The Yucaipa Companies, LLC, a private investment firm that specializes in U.S. companies in the distribution, logistics, food, ...

and in conjunction with

Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, the ...

's expansion bid into

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

, 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 The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's Association football, soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four FIFA Women's World Cup, Wom ...

coach

Jill Ellis Jillian Anne Ellis (born 6 September 1966) is an English-American soccer coach and executive who is currently the president of San Diego Wave FC. Ellis coached the United States women's national soccer team from 2014 to October 2019 and won two ...

, who had retired from coaching after winning her second, and the United States's fourth,

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...

championship. Ellis said Burkle had sought her advice about NWSL expansion in 2021. Ellis relocated from

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, 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 The England women's national football team, also known as the Lionesses, have been governed by the Football Association (FA) since 1993, having been previously administered by the Women's Football Association (WFA). England played its first in ...

captain and Manchester United W.F.C. manager

Casey Stoney Casey Jean Stoney (born 13 May 1982) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of San Diego Wave FC. A versatile defender, she was capped more than 100 times for the England women's national football te ...

as the Wave's first head coach. Stoney subsequently hired Rich Gunney from

Portland Thorns FC The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Uni ...

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 The Women's Championship (formerly The FA Women's Championship) is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The division was established in 2014 as the FA Women's Super League 2 (WSL 2). WSL 2 replaced the previous level 2 d ...

title and promotion to the

Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...

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 Torero Stadium is a 6,000-seat multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, located on the campus of the University of San Diego in San Diego, California. Opened in 1961, it serves as the home of the school's football and soccer ...

, on the campus of the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

, for the

2022 NWSL Challenge Cup The 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup was a league cup competition that took place during the 2022 National Women's Soccer League season. It was the third iteration of the NWSL Challenge Cup tournament. Format The 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup was a multi-sta ...

and the first nine home matches of the

2022 National Women's Soccer League season The 2022 National Women's Soccer League season was the tenth season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2 ...

. Torero also served as the venue for the previous professional women's soccer team in San Diego, the

San Diego Spirit The San Diego Spirit was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Torero Stadium on the campus of the University of San Diego in San Diego, California. The team began play in 2001. The l ...

of the

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first Women's association football, women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000 in sports, 2000, the league began its first se ...

, from 2001 to 2003. The team scheduled its last two regular season home matches at

Snapdragon Stadium Snapdragon Stadium, known during its planning and early construction phases as Aztec Stadium, is an outdoor college football stadium on the West Coast of the United States, west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. It is loc ...

, which opened in September 2022 in the Mission Valley campus extension of

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

, 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 Del Mar (; Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach town in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The Del Mar Horse Races are hosted on the De ...

. 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

Competitions

Regular season

The Wave opened their first regular season with a 1–0 road win over

Houston Dash The Houston Dash is a professional women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 season, and is affiliated with the MLS team Houston Dynamo FC. History Establishment On November ...

, with

Jodie Taylor Jodie Lee Taylor (born 17 May 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for San Diego Wave of NWSL. She began her club career with local team Tranmere Rovers and had brief spells in her home country with Birmingham City, ...

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 NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2013 ...

, 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 Angel City Football Club is a National Women's Soccer League expansion team that began play in 2022. The team is based in Los Angeles, California, and was announced on July 21, 2020. The team has many high-profile owners, including Becky G, Natal ...

, 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 The NWSL Challenge Cup, currently known as the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tournament organized by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top-tier women's league in the United States soccer league system. Th ...

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

Divisional standings

Squad statistics

Goalscorers

Shutouts

Awards

NWSL Monthly Awards

Player of the Month

Rookie of the Month

Team of the Month

NWSL Weekly Awards

Player of the Week

Save of the Week

Transactions

2022 NWSL Expansion Draft

The

2022 NWSL Expansion Draft The 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft (formerly named the 2021 NWSL Expansion Draft) was an expansion draft held by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) on December 16, 2021, for two expansion teams, Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC, to select pla ...

was held on December 16, 2021. Blue highlights indicate United States federation players.

2022 NWSL Draft

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. The

2022 NWSL Draft The 2022 NWSL Draft was the 10th annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on December 18, 2021, and hosted remotely by CBS Sports. Format * All 12 teams of the National ...

was held on December 18, 2021.

Transfers in

Transfers out

Preseason trialists

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