Full name | San Diego Spirit | ||
---|---|---|---|
Founded | 2001 | ||
Dissolved | 2003 | ||
Stadium | Torero Stadium, San Diego, California | ||
Capacity | 7,000 | ||
Owner | Cox Communications | ||
League | Women's United Soccer Association (2001-2003) | ||
The San Diego Spirit was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Torero Stadium on the campus of the University of San Diego in San Diego, California. The team began play in 2001. The league announced on September 15, 2003, it was suspending operations.
The founding members of the Spirit were Julie Foudy, Shannon MacMillan and Joy Fawcett. [1] The team reached the playoffs in the 2003 season, losing to the Atlanta Beat in the semifinals. [2] Other notable members of the Spirit included Scotland's Julie Fleeting, Brazil's Daniela and Canada's Christine Latham, as well as U.S. national team players Jenni Branam, Aly Wagner and Shannon Boxx.
Year | League | Regular season | Playoffs | Avg. attendance | Total attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | WUSA | 5th Place | Did not qualify | 5,711 | 62,821 |
2002 | WUSA | 7th Place | Did not qualify | 5,883 | 58,832 |
2003 | WUSA | 3rd Place | Semifinals | 5,635 | 61,983 |
The "founding players" of the Spirit were Julie Foudy, Shannon MacMillan and Joy Fawcett of the 1999 U.S. Women's World Cup team. [3]
2003 Roster [4]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Coach: Omid Namazi
The WUSA announced on September 15, 2003, that it was suspending operations. [5]
The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the United States. The league suspended operations on September 15, 2003, shortly after the end of its third season, after making cumulative losses of around US$100 million.
Mariel Margaret Hamm-Garciaparra is an American former professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Hailed as a soccer icon, she played as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team from 1987 to 2004. Hamm was the face of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional women's soccer league in the United States, where she played for the Washington Freedom from 2001 to 2003. She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team and helped the team win four NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship titles.
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Julie Maurine Foudy is an American retired soccer midfielder, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. She played for the United States women's national soccer team from 1988 to 2004. Foudy finished her international career with 274 caps and served as the team's captain from 2000 to 2004 as well as the co-captain from 1991 to 2000. In 1997, she was the first American and first woman to receive the FIFA Fair Play Award.
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