San Diego Spirit

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.

San Diego Spirit
Full nameSan Diego Spirit
Founded2001
Dissolved2003
GroundTorero Stadium,
San Diego, California
Capacity7,000
OwnerCox Communications
LeagueWomen's United Soccer Association (2001-2003)

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-by-year
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

Players

The "founding players" of the Spirit were Julie Foudy, Shannon MacMillan and Joy Fawcett of the 1999 USA 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.

No. Position Player
2 DF Amy Sauer
3 DF Ronnie Fair
5 MF Daniela
6 FW Kerry Connors
7 FW Zhang Ouying
8 FW Shannon MacMillan
9 FW Julie Fleeting
10 MF Aly Wagner
No. Position Player
11 MF Julie Foudy
12 MF Jen Mascaro
13 MF Jennifer Nielsen
14 DF Joy Fawcett
16 DF Kim Pickup
17 FW Christine Latham
18 GK Jaime Pagliarulo
24 GK Jenni Branam

Coach: Omid Namazi

Coaches

League suspension
Main article: Women's United Soccer Association ยง League suspension

The WUSA announced on September 15, 2003 that it was suspending operations.[5]

See also

References
  1. Wagman, Robert. "Hamm is assigned to play in Washington as first 24 allocations are announced". SoccerTimes. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  2. "Pohlers, Hooper score dramatic goals to send Atlanta past Spirit 2-1 in overtime to Founders Cup". SoccerTimes. August 17, 2003. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  3. "WUSA San Diego Announces Key Hires". PR Newswire. October 17, 2000. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  4. "WUSA Teams Set Rosters". Our Sports Central. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  5. Longman, Jere (September 16, 2003). "Women's Soccer League Folds on World Cup Eve". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 November 2014.


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