# 2023 San Diego Wave FC season

The 2023 San Diego Wave FC season was the team's second as a professional women's soccer team. The Wave competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top tier of women's soccer in the United States. The Wave finished the season with the best record, earning the NWSL Shield and a first-round bye to the playoff semi-finals where they were eliminated from the postseason.

## Team
### Squad

    As of October 15, 2023.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
| 1 | GK | Kailen Sheridan | Canada |
| 2 | DF | Abby Dahlkemper | United States |
| 3 | FW | Rachel Hill | United States |
| 4 | DF | Naomi Girma | United States |
| 5 | MF | Emily van Egmond | Australia |
| 6 | FW | Kelsey Turnbow | United States |
| 7 | FW | Amirah Ali | United States |
| 8 | MF | Sierra Enge | United States |
| 10 | FW | Sofia Jakobsson | Sweden |
| 11 | FW | Jaedyn Shaw | United States |
| 12 | MF | Giovanna DeMarco | United States |
| 13 | FW | Alex Morgan | United States |
| 14 | DF | Kristen McNabb | United States |
| 15 | MF | Makenzy Doniak | United States |
| 16 | DF | Madison Pogarch | United States |
| 17 | GK | Lauren Brzykcy | United States |
| 18 | DF | Kaleigh Riehl | United States |
| 19 | FW | Kyra Carusa | United States |
| 20 | DF | Christen Westphal | United States |
| 22 | MF | Taylor Kornieck | United States |
| 23 | MF | Belle Briede | United States |
| 24 | MF | Danielle Colaprico | United States |
| 25 | FW | Melanie Barcenas | United States |
| 26 | DF | Mia Gyau | United States |
| 28 | MF | Meggie Dougherty Howard | United States |
| 30 | GK | Shae Yáñez | United States |

### Coaching Staff

    As of October 16, 2023.
| Position | Staff |
| Head Coach | Casey Stoney |
| Assistant Coach | Jackie Bachteler |
| Assistant Coach / Head of Goalkeeping | Louis Hunt |
| Technical and Development Coach | Craig Barclay |
| Tactical Coach Analyst | Chris Loxston |

## Competitions
### Regular season
#### Regular season standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | San Diego Wave FC (S) | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 31 | 22 | +9 | 37 | Playoff semifinals and W Champions Cup |
| 2 | Portland Thorns FC | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 42 | 32 | +10 | 35 | Playoff semifinals and W Champions Cup |
| 3 | North Carolina Courage | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 22 | +7 | 33 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 4 | OL Reign | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 24 | +5 | 32 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 5 | Angel City FC | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 31 | 30 | +1 | 31 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 6 | NJ/NY Gotham FC (C) | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 25 | 24 | +1 | 31 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 7 | Orlando Pride | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 27 | 28 | −1 | 31 | |
| 8 | Washington Spirit | 22 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 26 | 29 | −3 | 30 | |
| 9 | Racing Louisville FC | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 25 | 24 | +1 | 27 | |
| 10 | Houston Dash | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 18 | −2 | 26 | |
| 11 | Kansas City Current | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 30 | 36 | −6 | 26 | |
| 12 | Chicago Red Stars | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 28 | 50 | −22 | 24 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: October 15, 2023. Source: NWSLsoccer.com

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Stadium | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H |
| Result | W | W | L | W | L | L | W | W | D | W | D | L | L | L | D | W | W | W | L | W | D | W |
| Position | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |

### NWSL Challenge Cup
#### Group stage
#### West Division standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | RGN | LA | POR | SD |
| 1 | OL Reign | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 14 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| 2 | Angel City FC | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 8 | | 0–2 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| 3 | Portland Thorns FC | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 7 | | 0–1 | 3–2 | — | 4–1 |
| 4 | San Diego Wave FC | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 4 | | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — |

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Stadium | A | H | H | H | A | A |
| Result | W | L | L | L | L | D |
| Position | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |

## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of match played November 5, 2023; 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 | Total | NWSL | NWSL | Playoffs | Playoffs | Challenge Cup | Challenge Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | CAN | Kailen Sheridan | 21 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | USA | Shae Yanez | 9 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | USA | Abby Dahlkemper | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | USA | Naomi Girma | 22 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | USA | Kristen McNabb | 15 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | USA | Madison Pogarch | 23 | 1 | 7+9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | USA | Kaleigh Riehl | 25 | 0 | 18+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | USA | Christen Westphal | 28 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | USA | Mia Gyau | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 5 | MF | AUS | Emily van Egmond | 12 | 0 | 1+9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | USA | Sierra Enge | 14 | 2 | 7+3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | USA | Giovanna DeMarco | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | USA | Taylor Kornieck | 22 | 2 | 6+10 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 23 | MF | USA | Belle Briede | 12 | 1 | 2+5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | USA | Danielle Colaprico | 28 | 1 | 21+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3+2 | 1 |
| 28 | MF | USA | Meggie Dougherty Howard | 17 | 0 | 8+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 3 | FW | USA | Rachel Hill | 23 | 0 | 15+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | FW | USA | Kelsey Turnbow | 11 | 0 | 0+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | USA | Amirah Ali | 21 | 2 | 5+11 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | SWE | Sofia Jakobsson | 19 | 2 | 8+8 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | USA | Jaedyn Shaw | 29 | 6 | 19+3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4+2 | 1 |
| 13 | FW | USA | Alex Morgan | 20 | 6 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | USA | Makenzy Doniak | 27 | 3 | 11+10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | IRL | Kyra Carusa | 8 | 2 | 4+3 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | USA | Melanie Barcenas | 12 | 0 | 0+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for the club but left during the season: ||||||||||||
| 27 | FW | USA | Shea Connors | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | USA | Cheyenne Shorts | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 46 | DF | USA | Chai Cortez | 3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

    As of match played November 5, 2023
| Rank | No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | NWSL | Playoffs | Cup | Total |
| 1 | 13 | FW | | Alex Morgan | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | 11 | FW | | Jaedyn Shaw | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | 15 | FW | | Makenzy Doniak | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | 10 | FW | | Sofia Jakobsson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | 7 | FW | | Amirah Ali | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | 8 | MF | | Sierra Enge | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | 19 | FW | | Kyra Carusa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | 22 | MF | | Taylor Kornieck | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | 2 | DF | | Abby Dahlkemper | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 23 | MF | | Belle Briede | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 14 | DF | | Kristen McNabb | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 16 | DF | | Madison Pogarch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | 34 | DF | | Cheyenne Shorts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | 24 | MF | | Danielle Colaprico | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 29 | 0 | 4 | 33 |

### Shutouts

    As of match played November 5, 2023
| Rank | No. | Pos. | Name | NWSL | Playoffs | Cup | Total |
| 1 | 1 | GK | Kailen Sheridan | 9 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 9 | 0 | 1 | 10 |

## Transactions
### 2023 NWSL Draft

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. The 2023 NWSL Draft was held on January 12, 2023.
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | College | Status |
| 2 | 13 | Sierra Enge | MF | Stanford | Signed |
| 3 | 33 | Lauren Brzykcy | GK | UCLA | Signed |
| 4 | 45 | Giovanna DeMarco | MF | Wake Forest | Signed |

### Transfers in

| Date | Player | Pos. | Previous club | Fee/notes |
| December 2, 2022 | Rachel Hill | FW | Chicago Red Stars | Free agent signing. |
| December 5, 2022 | Danielle Colaprico | MF | Chicago Red Stars | Free agent signing. |
| January 12, 2023 | Megan Dougherty Howard | MF | Orlando Pride | Free agent signing. |
| March 28, 2023 | Cheyenne Shorts | DF | Portland Thorns FC | Short-term injury replacement player signing. |
| April 26, 2023 | Shae Yanez | GK | London City Lionesses | Transferred for an undisclosed fee. |
| June 27, 2023 | Chai Cortez | DF | Oregon Ducks | Short-term national team replacement player signings. |
| June 27, 2023 | Shea Connors | FW | Brisbane Roar FC | Short-term national team replacement player signings. |
| June 27, 2023 | Sydney Cummings | DF | Western United FC | Short-term national team replacement player signings. |
| August 16, 2023 | Kyra Carusa | FW | London City Lionesses | Free transfer. |

### Transfers out

| Date | Player | Pos. | Destination club | Fee/notes |
| November 15, 2022 | Jackie Altschuld | FW | | Out of contract. |
| November 15, 2022 | Taylor Hansen | DF | | Out of contract. |
| November 15, 2022 | Katie Johnson | FW | Angel City FC | Out of contract. |
| November 15, 2022 | Melissa Lowder | GK | | Out of contract. |
| November 15, 2022 | Sydney Pulver | MF | | Out of contract. |
| November 15, 2022 | Kayla Bruster | DF | | The club chose not to exercise contract options. |
| November 15, 2022 | Marleen Schimmer | FW | | The club chose not to exercise contract options. |

### Retirements

| Date | Player | Pos. | Ref. |
| March 15, 2023 | Carly Telford | GK | |

### Preseason trialists

Trialists are non-rostered invitees during preseason and are not automatically signed. The Wave released their preseason roster on February 6, 2023.
| Player | Pos. | Previous team |
| Melanie Barcenas | FW | San Diego Surf SC |
| Trinity Watson | DF | Pepperdine Waves |
| Maisie Whitsett | MF | Louisville Cardinals |