San Diego Wave FC announced on Aug. 31 that four National Team Replacement players signed during the 2023 Women’s World Cup have been released.

This includes defenders Sydney Commings, Cheyenne Shorts, goalkeeper Meagan McClelland, and forward Shea Connors.

The move comes as all international players who were away this summer for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup have returned and will be honored on Sunday, Sept. 3, before their match against Houston Dash.

That includes Alex Morgan and Naomi Girma for the USWNT, Kailen Sheridan for Canada, Emily Van Egmond for Australia, Sofia Jakobsson for Sweden, and the newly signed Kyra Carusa, who played for the Republic of Ireland.

 The Wave will also be giving away a bucket hat to the first 10,000 fans that features five flags of the six countries, excluding Ireland, as Kyra Carusa was only recently signed to the club.

The fifth NTRP, defender Chai Cortez, will stay with the club for now as her status was changed to an injury replacement contract. Cortez had previously played on trial for Houston Dash after five seasons at the University of Oregon. Now Cortez plays the left-back position instead of Kristen McNabb, who has been out with an injury. 

Though, in the Wave’s last match, Casey Stoney opted to place center-back Kaliegh Riehl in the left-back slot, which worked very well, leaving room for two great U.S. international center-backs, Naomi Girma and Abby Dahlkemper, at the center. 

Shea Connors has already signed to play for Sydney Football Club in Australia’s domestic league, and the status of Cheyenne Shorts and Sydney Cummings, who previously played for the Wave in training, is unclear at this time.

Abraham Zepeda

Abraham Zepeda is a bilingual Chula Vista Native covering the Tijuana Xolos for EVT. He spent the summer of 2022 covering San Diego Loyal SC and San Diego Wave FC. He is also currently a student at the University of Oregon pursuing a degree in journalism.