After San Diego concluded its three-game road trip with a scoreless draw versus the Houston Dash at Shell Energy Stadium, the team announced it had let go head coach Casey Stoney (above) on Monday afternoon. Paul Buckle will serve as interim head coach.
“We are immensely grateful to Casey (Stoney) for her commitment to our club and the positive impact she has had both on and off the pitch,” said San Diego Wave FC President Jill Ellis. “Over the past seasons, Casey has guided us to significant milestones, and her contributions have been instrumental in laying a strong foundation on which to build. The decision to part ways was very hard and not made in haste, but given the ambition of this club, and where we are in our season, we felt a change was necessary at this time.”
The Wave managed to get just two of nine possible points during the recent road trip after a 1-1 draw against the Washington Spirit on June 15, and a 2-1 defeat to defending champion Gotham FC on June 19, giving up a late-goal in the both occasions.
“I’d love to know if any other teams have this away stint,” said San Diego Wave head coach Casey Stoney on Saturday. “Playing Saturday, playing Wednesday, playing Saturday, traveling in between all on the road. I think you’ll find no other team has had this, I think it’s extremely unfair on the players.”
The Wave is in ninth place of the NWSL standings one point behind Racing Louisville, which holds the final playoff spot but is tied in points with Bay City and Angel City FC, and one point ahead of the Dash, who they will face again on Oct. 13 at Snapdragon Stadium.
“I’m extremely proud of my players tonight, they put an absolute shift in. It was so hot out there,” Stoney said. “They worked so hard, they controlled the game until the last ten minutes when we gave away a few set pieces.”
The temperature at game time in Houston exceeded 92 degrees with temperatures climbing close to triple digits on the pitch. San Diego Wave will return home to face the Chicago Red Stars on Friday, June 28. The Red Stars are winless in the last five matches and are coming off a 3-1 road loss to the North Carolina Courage on Sunday.
Photo by David Frerker
