The start of the NWSL season is coming fast, and San Diego Wave’s preseason is already in full swing preparing for their first regular season match March 25, against the Chicago Red Stars.
It is the third week of preseason and while most of last year's squad are returning to Wave FC, many are currently playing internationally in the She Believes Cup. This will mimic what Wave will experience this summer during the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Top NWSL teams across the league will have their depth tested.
San Diego signed three players from free agency and added multiple players through the 2023 NWSL draft who could provide important depth to the club.
“The players that we’ve brought in, Meggie (Dougherty Howard), Rachel (Hill) and Danny (Colaprico), have added to our game already. You can see their quality and experience showing through in training,” head coach Casey Stoney said.
San Diego’s first pick in the draft was the 13th selection, and the first of the second round which the club traded up for to ensure their selection of Sierra Enge, a midfielder from Cardiff, California, who played collegiately at Stanford.
“Everyone’s done a really good job of kind of supporting me, teaching me too,” Enge said. “There is a lot to learn as a rookie in this league, so a lot of people have stepped to the side and explained to me what passes on (or) what makes sense in this situation. I’m super appreciative of the team.”
Enge is the third player who played for Stanford women’s soccer to make it on to San Diego’s roster, as she previously played with midfielder Belle Briede, and 2022 NWSL Rookie and Defender of the Year award winner, Naomi Girma.
Enge was captain of the Cardinal for her last two seasons and appeared in 79 games across her four years with the team where she won three Pac-12 championships, and won the 2019 NCAA championship alongside Briede and Girma.
“The San Diego community is incredible, so I’m excited to be able to play in front of my hometown,” Enge said.
San Diego holds the NWSL attendance record for a match from their first game at Snapdragon Stadium where they sold out with an announced crowd of 32,000 people. Many tickets to the March 25 home opener are still available with tickets as low as $10.
“I’m really hoping for a sell-out,” Stoney said. “Our fans get behind the team and make it such an experience for our players, so I hope our players get to walk out in front of a sellout and that San Diego gets behind us yet again.”