Preseason
The Wave announced multiple staff changes in early preseason. On November 18, the club revealed that interim coach Landon Donovan would not be returning to the club in 2025, leaving a vacancy in the head coach role. [14] [15] On November 3, the Wave announced another change, with club president Jill Ellis stepping down from her position in order to become FIFA Chief of Football. [16] [17]
On December 10, the Wave announced their first offseason move, trading longtime defender Christen Westphal to the Houston Dash in exchange for $14,000 of NWSL allocation money and a 2025 international roster spot. [18] The same day, the club revealed its end-of-year roster decisions, listing Amirah Ali, Hillary Beall, Elyse Bennett, Kyra Carusa, Danielle Colaprico, and Morgan Messner as free agents. While the Wave opted to exercise its mutual option with Swedish defender Hanna Lundkvist, no comment was made in regards to forward Kyra Carusa's 2025 player option. [19] The Wave later announced on social media that Ali, Bennett, Colaprico, and Messner would all be leaving the club and exploring other opportunities in NWSL free agency. [20] The club continued to make offseason moves, signing UCLA defender Quincy McMahon on December 13 [21] and re-signing Hillary Beall on December 23. [22] Three days into 2025, the Wave announced that the club had agreed on a mutual contract termination with midfielder Emily van Egmond. [23]
New developments in the Wave's legal battle arrived on January 6, featuring a sixth former employee joining the set of plaintiffs suing the club. The employee alleged sexual harassment perpetrated by her then-supervisor. [24] [25] In other non-player news, the Wave announced the hiring of Swedish manager Jonas Eidevall as the club's head coach one day later. [26] Eidevall had last managed Arsenal W.F.C. before resigning from his post in October 2024. [27]
On January 13, the club signed Nigerian forward Chiamaka Okwuchukwu. [28] The next day, the Wave honored a trade request by Jaedyn Shaw, sending her to the North Carolina Courage in exchange for $300,000 in allocation money, $150,000 in intra-league transfer funds, an international roster slot for the next two years, and additional fees pending conditions met. [29] [30] Another piece of news rolled on on January 15, with German midfielder Gia Corley joining the club on a two-year contract. [31] The Wave's third incoming in a matter of days was announced on January 16, featuring the signing of North Carolina Tar Heels defender Trinity Armstrong to a multi-year deal. [32]
The Wave announced the signings of Sintia Cabezas, Favour Emmanuel, and DiDi Haračić, all on January 20. [33] [34] [35] Cabezas was immediately loaned out to USL Super League team Lexington SC for the duration of the season. [33] On January 21, the Wave's preseason roster was released. While no non-roster invitees were included, the announcement did note the activation of Kyra Carusa's contract option. [36] The club signed French midfielder Kenza Dali to a two-year contract on January 24. [37] On January 26, the club announced the transfer of Naomi Girma to Chelsea for a world-record fee. [38] Girma's departure had been rumored by various outlets in the days and weeks leading up to the completion of the deal. [39]
The Wave played their first preseason match of the year on February 10, a 3–2 victory against the Utah Royals in Chula Vista. [40] [41] The team then travelled to the Coachella Valley Invitational, where they played to a 0–0 draw with the Houston Dash [42] and later earned a 1–0 win over Bay FC. [43] During the Coachella Valley Invitational, the team also loaned out Canadian forward Mya Jones to AFC Toronto. [44]
On February 24, the club signed Adriana Leon from Aston Villa to a two-year contract. [45]
