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.
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.
Early years
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 9th, it was announced the club would be called Wave Fútbol Club.
Inaugural season (2022) and early success
San Diego Wave FC officially began play on March 19th, 2022 in the NWSL Challenge Cup against fellow expansion team Angel City FC on the road, where they drew 1-1 after Kaleigh Riehl scored a later equalizer in the 82nd minute. The Wave played their first home match against the Portland Thorns, resulting a 1-0 loss in the University of San Diego's Torero Stadium to a crowd of 6,000. They would go on to record their first ever victory on April 2nd in their second leg against Angel City, thanks to a brace by captain Alex Morgan and goals from Jodie Taylor and Amirah Ali in a 4-2 win. Despite the promising start, the Wave would finish the group stage with two loses and draw, dropping them to third place in the West Division and knocking them out the tournament.
The Wave opened their inaugural regular season on May 1st to a three game win streak, defeating the Houston Dash 1-0, NJ/NY Gotham 4-0, and Chicago Red Stars 2-1 before finally falling to Racing Louisville 1-0. The San Diego Wave sat on the top of the table for 11 weeks before a 2-1 loss to the KC Current dropped them to second on August 7th. They briefly regained the top spot twice on August 27th and September 17th but two draws against Orlando Pride and North Carolina Courage to close out the season saw them finish third, earning them a spot in the first round of the playoffs. In the first round, the Wave faced off against the Chicago Red Stars, winning 2-1 thanks to an Alex Morgan goal in the 110th minute. The Following week, the Wave traveled to Providence Park to play against eventual champions Portland Thorns losing 2-1 following a Crystal Dunn goal in the dying embers of the game.
Four members of the inaugural Wave team won awards for the season; Captain Alex Morgan won the Golden Boot after scoring 15 goals, rookie defender Naomi Girma won both Defender of the Year and Rookie of the Year, Canadian Kailen Sheridan won Goalkeeper of the Year and former English defender Casey Stoney won Coach of the Year.
2023 and NWSL Shield winners
In their second year, the San Diego Wave FC won the NWSL Shield trophy with their 1st place position in the league. The Wave won 11 of their 22 matches, drew 4, and lost 7 for a total of 37 points on the season. San Diego's +9 goal differential (31 scored, 22 allowed) was second-best in the league, behind Portland Thorns' +10 differential. The team's first-place record gave them a first-round playoff bye and a home semi-final game.
Colors and crest
On December 15, 2021, the team revealed its crest for the 2022 season. Press released said, "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."