2024 San Diego Wave FC season

In the prior season, the Wave finished the season in 1st place, winning the NWSL Shield with an 11–7–4 record.^[3] In the NWSL Playoffs, the Wave sat out the quarterfinals with a first-round bye before facing a 1–0 defeat at the hands of the OL Reign in their semifinal match.^[4] It was the club's second semifinal playoff defeat in two years.^[5]

On January 23, 2024, the Wave extended head coach Casey Stoney's contract through the 2027 season, with a mutual option for 2028.^[6]

Club general manager Molly Downtain announced her resignation during the offseason, setting a departure date for April 15, 2024. Downtain was named the Wave's general manager in July 2021 and had managed the club in both previous seasons.^[7][8]

On November 21, 2023, the Wave waived defender Mia Gyau as part of the club's end-of-season roster decisions.^[9] Over the following months, the Wave worked to re-sign players, committing forwards Amirah Ali and Kyra Carusa to one-year contracts with options.^[10][11] The club also signed three of their four free agents to new deals, agreeing to two-year contracts with Makenzy Doniak, Christen Westphal, and Emily van Egmond.^[12][13][14] The Wave's fourth free agent, Madison Pogarch, did not re-sign with the club and instead joined 2024 expansion club Utah Royals.^[15]

With the 2024 NWSL expansion draft drawing nearer, the Wave also traded defender Kaleigh Riehl to the Utah Royals in exchange for $60,000 in Allocation Money and draft protection from the expansion club.^[16] The Wave did not trade for draft protection from Bay FC,^[17] resulting in the loss of forward Rachel Hill and midfielder Sierra Enge during the draft at the hands of the fellow Californian club.^[18][19] The Wave later reacquired Enge in a trade with Bay FC and the Houston Dash, sending the Wave's 2024 third-round NWSL Draft pick, $60,000 in allocation money, and midfielder Belle Briede to Houston in exchange for Enge.^[20]

Leading up to the 2024 NWSL Draft, the Wave signed free agent midfielder Savannah McCaskill from Angel City FC on December 20, 2023.^[21] In January 2024, the club transferred goalkeeper Shae Yanez to English club Bristol City^[22] and brought in Hillary Beall from Racing Louisville FC.^[23] Later, the Wave's goalkeeper corps would meet its final change of the offseason, with 2023 draftee Lauren Brzykcy and the club agreeing to a mutual contract termination.^[24]

During the NWSL Draft, the Wave selected Stanford defender Kennedy Wesley as the 12th overall pick. The club also drafted Canadian forward Mya Jones from Memphis as the 42nd overall pick.^[25] Both players later signed 2-year contracts with the Wave.^[26][27] On Draft Day, the club also traded Meggie Dougherty Howard to Angel City in exchange for $40,000 in allocation money.^[28] Ten days later, the Wave sent Taylor Kornieck to Racing Louisville FC for $150,000 in allocation money.

The Wave wrapped up their offseason transactions by bringing in two international players. In February, the club signed Swedish defender Hanna Lundkvist from Atlético Madrid and Australian defender Kaitlyn Torpey from Melbourne City.^[29][30] The transfer fee paid for Torpey was heavily rumored to be a new outbound Australian women's soccer record.^[31][32]

As part of a league-wide refresh, the Wave revealed their 2024 primary and secondary kits on February 27, 2024. The club's primary kit, titled 'Del Sol,' sports orange, pink, and turquoise patterns reminiscent of waves and the San Diego sunset.^[33] Bright pink colors are used for the team's secondary kit, named 'Poderosa'.^[34][35]

The Wave continued to play in Snapdragon Stadium in their second full season of residency. However, during the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, the Wave returned to former home venue Torero Stadium for their first game of the tournament against Bay FC.^[36]

In the Wave's home opener at Snapdragon Stadium, the club set an NWSL home opener attendance record with 32,066 individuals attending the game.^[37]

Poor pitch conditions at Snapdragon Stadium were a source of criticism throughout the 2024 season.^[38][39] Two days before the Wave's season finale, a planned home fixture against Racing Louisville FC, the club announced that the match would be relocated to Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville. Field and player safety concerns were cited as key reasons for the move.^[40][41]

On May 8, 2024, the Wave renewed their partnership with San Diego broadcasters Fox 5 San Diego and KUSI to locally air all eight of the team's non-nationally broadcast matches over the course of the season.^[42]

As of November 23, 2024.^[43]

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	CAN	Kailen Sheridan (Third Captain)
4	DF	USA	Naomi Girma
5	MF	AUS	Emily van Egmond
6	DF	SWE	Hanna Lundkvist
7	FW	USA	Amirah Ali
11	FW	USA	Jaedyn Shaw
12	DF	USA	Kennedy Wesley
14	DF	USA	Kristen McNabb
15	FW	USA	Makenzy Doniak
16	DF	AUS	Kaitlyn Torpey
17	MF	USA	Kimmi Ascanio
18	FW	CAN	Mya Jones
19	FW	IRL	Kyra Carusa
20	DF	USA	Christen Westphal
21	MF	USA	Savannah McCaskill
22	GK	USA	Hillary Beall
23	FW	USA	Elyse Bennett
24	MF	USA	Danielle Colaprico
25	FW	USA	Melanie Barcenas
35	GK	USA	Morgan Messner
69	FW	FRA	Delphine Cascarino
75	DF	FRA	Perle Morroni
77	FW	MEX	María Sánchez

As of August 17, 2024.^[44][45]

Position	Staff
Head coach	Landon Donovan (interim)
Development Coach	Jackie Bachteler
Assistant Coach/Head of Goalkeeping	Louis Hunt
Technical and Development Coach	Craig Barclay
Director of Recruitment and Analytics	Chris Loxton

As of match played November 3, 2024

As of match played November 3, 2024; only players who have made appearances are listed.

Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances after the + symbol where applicable.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		NWSL		Challenge Cup		Summer Cup		Champions Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	CAN	Kailen Sheridan	29	0	25	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
22	GK	USA	Hillary Beall	5	0	1+1	0	0	0	1	0	1+1	0
35	GK	USA	Morgan Messner	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Defenders
4	DF	USA	Naomi Girma	23	0	20	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
5	DF	SWE	Hanna Lundkvist	29	2	20+3	2	1	0	1	0	4	0
12	DF	USA	Kennedy Wesley	16	2	12+1	1	0	0	1	1	1+1	0
14	DF	USA	Kristen McNabb	31	2	21+3	1	0	0	3	0	4	1
16	DF	AUS	Kaitlyn Torpey	17	1	4+10	0	0+1	0	0	0	1+1	1
20	DF	USA	Christen Westphal	22	0	8+7	0	1	0	3	0	2+1	0
75	DF	FRA	Perle Morroni	8	0	1+5	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Midfielders
5	MF	AUS	Emily van Egmond	31	1	19+7	1	1	0	0	0	3+1	0
17	MF	USA	Kimmi Ascanio	9	0	2+4	0	0	0	0+2	0	1	0
21	MF	USA	Savannah McCaskill	25	1	16+4	1	1	0	3	0	0+1	0
24	MF	USA	Danielle Colaprico	29	0	18+5	0	0+1	0	3	0	2	0
Forwards
7	FW	USA	Amirah Ali	21	3	10+4	1	0+1	0	0+3	1	1+2	1
11	FW	USA	Jaedyn Shaw	25	4	13+9	4	1	0	0	0	2	0
15	FW	USA	Makenzy Doniak	32	3	17+7	3	1	0	3	0	2+2	0
18	FW	CAN	Mya Jones	24	2	12+7	2	0	0	0+1	0	2+2	0
19	FW	IRL	Kyra Carusa	19	2	7+10	2	1	0	0	0	0+1	0
23	FW	USA	Elyse Bennett	21	0	2+12	0	1	0	2+1	0	1+2	0
25	FW	USA	Melanie Barcenas	16	1	6+4	1	0	0	0+3	0	3	0
69	FW	FRA	Delphine Cascarino	13	2	7+3	2	0	0	0	0	2+1	0
77	FW	MEX	María Sánchez	29	6	18+4	1	0	0	3	1	3+1	4
Players who appeared for the club but left during the season:
2	DF	USA	Abby Dahlkemper	17	1	12+1	1	1	0	3	0	0	0
8	MF	USA	Sierra Enge	4	0	1	0	0	0	1+2	0	0	0
10	FW	SWE	Sofia Jakobsson	15	1	6+6	1	0+1	0	1	0	1	0
13	FW	USA	Alex Morgan	18	1	10+3	0	0+1	1	3	0	1	0

Rank	No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	NWSL	Challenge Cup	Summer Cup	Champions Cup	Total
1	77	FW		María Sánchez	1	0	1	4	6
2	11	FW		Jaedyn Shaw	4	0	0	0	4
3	15	FW		Makenzy Doniak	3	0	0	0	3
4	7	FW		Amirah Ali	1	0	1	1	3
5	6	DF		Hanna Lundkvist	2	0	0	0	2
	18	FW		Mya Jones	2	0	0	0	2
	19	FW		Kyra Carusa	2	0	0	0	2
	69	FW		Delphine Cascarino	2	0	0	0	2
6	12	DF		Kennedy Wesley	1	0	1	0	2
	14	DF		Kristen McNabb	1	0	0	1	2
7	2	DF		Abby Dahlkemper	1	0	0	0	1
	5	MF		Emily van Egmond	1	0	0	0	1
	10	FW		Sofia Jakobsson	1	0	0	0	1
	21	MF		Savannah McCaskill	1	0	0	0	1
	25	FW		Melanie Barcenas	1	0	0	0	1
8	13	FW		Alex Morgan	0	1	0	0	1
	16	DF		Kaitlyn Torpey	0	0	0	1	1
Own goals					0	0	0	0	0
Total					24	1	3	7	35

Rank	No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	NWSL	Challenge Cup	Summer Cup	Champions Cup	Total
1	77	FW		María Sánchez	4	0	1	0	5
2	69	FW		Delphine Cascarino	3	0	0	1	4
3	17	MF		Kimmi Ascanio	1	0	0	1	2
	21	MF		Savannah McCaskill	1	1	0	0	2
4	6	DF		Hanna Lundkvist	0	0	0	2	2
5	11	FW		Jaedyn Shaw	1	0	0	0	1
	13	FW		Alex Morgan	1	0	0	0	1
	14	FW		Makenzy Doniak	1	0	0	0	1
	23	FW		Elyse Bennett	1	0	0	0	1
6	24	MF		Danielle Colaprico	0	0	1	0	1
Total					13	1	2	4	20

Rank	No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	NWSL	Challenge Cup	Summer Cup	Champions Cup	Total
1	1	GK		Kailen Sheridan	6	1	0	1	8
2	22	GK		Hillary Beall	0	0	0	1	1
	35	GK		Morgan Messner	0	0	1	0	1
Total					6	1	1	2	10

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	NWSL			Challenge Cup			Summer Cup			Champions Cup			Total
1	GK		Kailen Sheridan	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2
2	DF		Abby Dahlkemper	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
4	DF		Naomi Girma	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
5	MF		Emily van Egmond	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	0
6	DF		Hanna Lundkvist	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	7	0	0
10	FW		Sofia Jakobsson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0
11	FW		Jaedyn Shaw	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
12	DF		Kennedy Wesley	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
13	FW		Alex Morgan	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
14	DF		Kristen McNabb	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	1
16	DF		Kaitlyn Torpey	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
19	FW		Kyra Carusa	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
20	DF		Christen Westphal	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
21	MF		Savannah McCaskill	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
23	FW		Elyse Bennett	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
24	MF		Danielle Colaprico	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
75	DF		Perle Morroni	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
77	FW		María Sánchez	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Total				33	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	0	0	37	0	3