The San Diego Wave FC captured the city’s imagination during its opening three seasons, making professional women’s soccer matches must-see outings.
The Wave delivered with a trip to the National Women’s Soccer League’s inaugural semifinal playoffs in 2022 and were back again among the expanding league’s final four playoffs teams in 2023 after winning the league’s regular season shield (top record).
Crowds of 30,000 were the norm for postseason matches and even some regular season contests.
The Wave finished regulars season play 10-6-6 in 2022 while averaging 8,729 fans between twi venues. The San Diego team upgraded its record in 2023 to 11-7-4 with a 20, 718 average attendance during a full season at Snapdragon Stadium.
But the party ended with somewhat of a thud last season as the Wave failed to qualify for the NWSL playoffs, finishing with a 6-13-7 record (six wins, 13 losses, seven ties) and 10th place finish among the 12 teams.
There was turmoil throughout the administrative level and throughout the lineup. Fan favorites like Alex Morgan (U.S. national team) retired while others were not offered contract extensions, elected free agency, transferred to another club or were selected in an expansion draft.
Besides Morgan, midfielder Kelsey Turnbow also retired.
Head coach Casey Stoney was dismissed by the club following a seven-game winless streak while interim head coach Landon Donovan was not retained.
But fans continued to support the team — and the sport — at the local level with an average attendance of 19,575 at Snapdragon Stadium.
Things have since appeared to settle down and so has the Wave’s on-field fortunes in 2025. A younger, fitter and faster team has caught the fancy of fans.
The Wave kicked off the 2025 season under new full-time head coach Jonas Eidevall with a 1-1 draw at Angel City FC on March 16. Gia Corley put the visitors ahead 1-0 in the fifth minute before the hosts salvaged the point in the standings on a goal by Alyssa Thompson in the 54th minute.
The Wave out-shot Angel City 17-11, had 62 percent of the possession, compiled a 79 percent pass accuracy and 8-3 edge in corner kicks. Both teams picked up three yellow caution cards.
The match attracted 29,728 fans to BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
The league reached a historic milestone last season by drawing two million fans for an average of 11,250 per match, an increase of six percent from 2023.
Another increase might be on order this season after the league averaged 12,793 fans during its second week of games, including the 18,465 on hand for the Wave’s home opener last Saturday against the Utah Royals.
The Wave rewarded its loyal fan base with a 3-2 win that saw Corley scored the game-winning goal in the 74th minute to snap a 2-2 deadlock on the pitch.
The Wave roared ahead 2-0 on goals by Maria Sanchez (seventh minute) and Adrian Leon (37th minute). But the Royals drew even on tallies by Claudia Zomoza (61st minute) and Mina Tanaka (72nd minute).
But the game was not destined to end in a draw as the hosts scored two minutes after the Utah equalizer.
The Wave and Royals finished the match with 11 shots apiece. The Wave controlled 56 percent of possession and had an 81 percent pass accuracy. The hosts netted three yellow cards, two offsides and 5-3 edge in corners.
The game featured 27 fouls — 14 by Utah and 13 by San Diego.
With one win and one tie the start the season, the Wave stood fourth in the now 14-team table, tied with three other teams with four standings points.
San Diego travels to Florida to take on the undefeated Orlando Pride (2-0) in its next match on Saturday, March 29. Orlando and Kansas City were the league leaders with 2-0-0 records through two weeks of regular season play.
While the Wave was, er, making waves on the pitch, San Diego’s new MLS men’s team saw its meteoric unbeaten start end at four games (two wins, two ties) in a 2-1 loss to host Austin FC Sunday in Texas.
San Diego FC never led in the match, going down 2-0 on first-half goals by Brandon Vazquez (10th minute) and Jon Gallagher (19th minute). The visitors halved the deficit to 2-1 on a goal by San Diego native Luca de la Torre in the 27th minute and the score remained there as neither team was able to muster a goal in a scoreless second half.
San Diego FC has drawn kudos for its on-field build-up and such remained constant in Sunday’s road match. San Diego FC logged a 17-11 edge in shots, 77 percent of possession, 91 percent pass accuracy and 10-4 advantage in corners.
If there has been one nagging item, it’s been the team’s lack of finishing scoring opportunities.
The locals will need to be at their best when they host the Los Angeles Football Club Saturday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m. The following Saturday (April 5), SDFC will host the Seattle Sounders.
Austin is tied with LAFC for second place in the Western Conference standings with nine points — one point ahead of SDFC. Seattle is further down the 15-team table with a 1-2-2 record.
St. Louis and Minnesota, both with 2-1-2 records, are tied with San Diego FC in the early standings.
Photos by Andy Bartotto
