Casey Stoney has been fired as San Diego Wave manager after the team went seven games without a win.
The former England centre-back left Manchester United for newly formed San Diego in 2021 and led them to their first NWSL Shield in 2023, the trophy awarded to the team with the best regular season record. Wave then defeated the championship winners, NY/NJ Gotham, in the 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup, contested in the preseason between the two trophy winners.
However, this season Wave has only managed three league wins in 14 games, meaning they ranked ninth in the 14-team league17 points behind leaders Kansas City Current, prompting the club to take action.
“We are extremely grateful to Casey for her commitment to our club and the positive impact she has had both on and off the field,” said San Diego Wave President Jill Ellis, who won two World Cups as head coach of the U.S. women’s soccer team. National team.
“The decision to part ways was very difficult and not taken hastily, but given the ambition of this club and where we are in the season, we felt a change was necessary at this time.”
Stoney, 42, who had a decorated playing career for Arsenal, Charlton, Chelsea, Lincoln and Liverpool, became the first manager of the relaunched Manchester United team in 2018 and led them to the Championship title in their first season and promotion. to the Women’s Super League in the process.
Stoney’s departure comes as a shock as the manager signed a new long-term deal in January that would have kept her at Wave until 2027, with a mutual option to extend until 2028.
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Meanwhile, Wave announced on June 12 that Camille Ashton had joined as general manager, after the former defender spent two years in the same role at KC Current before resigning in May, with the club wishing her “the best in her future endeavors . ”.