San Diego Wave win big money, announce roster moves
Credit: SD Wave FC
The San Diego Wave were crowned champions of the World Sevens Football Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Wave went undefeated in five games and outscored opponents 14-3 in these games.
The Sevens competition is not standard soccer rules but instead has seven-player teams with small fields, no offsides, and unlimited substitutions.
San Diego faced teams from across the American continent, facing Deportivo Cali of Colombia, Club America and Tigres of Mexico, Nacional of Uruguay, and Flamengo of Brazil.
The San Diego Wave defeated Mexico’s Tigres 3-0 in the World Sevens women’s tournament to take home a $2M prize💰
World Sevens soccer involves two 15-minute halves and is played on a smaller pitch with no offsides and unlimited rolling substitutions 😲
More here:… pic.twitter.com/OucI6LgS4l
— espnW (@espnW) December 8, 2025
The Wave defeated Tigres UANL 3-0 in the final of this tournament to secure $2 million in prize money. This is a very significant sum considering that the NWSL salary cap is currently set at just $3.3 million.
Coming off this huge success, the Wave announced the final roster moves to round out the year. The Southern California team had a very solid 2025 NWSL season, making the quarterfinal stage of the tournament.
Hillary Beal, Kyra Carusa, Mya Jones, Chiamaka Okuwuchukwu, and Makenzy Robbe (formerly Doniak) are all now free agents. The biggest losses are Carusa and Robbe, who had roles as rotational players, but none of these players were very involved in the 2025 season.
Sinita Cabezas will still be on loan in Spain with Levante as the young defender continues to develop. SD Wave also announced it is in current contract discussions with Melanie Barcenas, Nya Harrison, Jordan Fusco, Didi Haraci, and Hanna Lundkvist.
A big concern on the latest update was also seeing that defender Trinity Armstrong was placed on the Season Ending Injury list. Armstrong was one of the key components of Jonas Eidevall’s team, and she will be a huge miss for the next season.
The Wave is set to continue to make several roster moves in the coming months ahead of the 2026 NWSL season.
Francisco, 28, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego FC, San Diego Wave. I have covered Liga MX, MLS, Mexico National Team, USWNT, Copa América and European clubs like Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund.