San Diego, CA
Tom Krasovic: Catarina Macario signing shows brighter days ahead for Wave
The San Diego Wave and their fans deserved every second of the festive Friday morning that played out at Snapdragon Stadium.
Wave personnel and fans erupted in cheers as Catarina Macario, a star striker with San Diego roots who agreed to a record-setting contract, displayed a Wave No. 20 jersey at an introductory news conference.
Macario, 26, has taken injury detours, but stands indisputably as one of the world’s better goal-scorers among women.
The Torrey Pines High School and San Diego Surf alum’s local pedigree may also boost the fifth-year Wave, who through no fault of the club’s current leaders, lost considerable star power in recent years, contributing to an attendance decline.
At a reported $8 million, the five-year deal is reportedly the most for a women’s soccer player.
Macario, smiling often, labeled her new reality “unreal,” while seated next to Wave sporting director Camille Ashton.
She was 12 when family members, seeking better opportunities, brought her from Brazil to live in San Diego after first visiting Dallas.
“I never would have imagined, I guess, that 12-year-old Cat, not knowing how to speak English, being super scared, would one day come back and get to represent her hometown team,” Macario said. “It’s very special. It’s something I’m very proud of. It will just mean that much more, once I step on the field.”
her signing with the San Diego Wave FC March 27, 2026 in San Diego, Calif. (Photo by Denis Poroy)
Ashton called it “a monumental signing.”
Ashton, formerly Camille Levin, won a national championship with Stanford as a player. She said Macario, who came to Stanford after Ashton turned pro, fits well into the possession-driven, uptempo style the Wave have developed in a season-plus under coach Jonas Eidevall.
“Cat is a world-class player of exceptional quality, intelligence and character,” Ashton said. “Her technical ability, vision and goal-scoring instinct make her one of the most exciting talents in the game today. Just as importantly, she brings a professionalism and competitive drive that will both complement and elevate the high standards already established within our squad.”
Turmoil marked the 2024 season, the franchise’s final one under team president Jill Ellis and coach Casey Stoney.
Ellis fired Stoney, the franchise’s coach since its inception, before midseason. The team’s offense was tedious, leading to a ninth-place finish and the franchise missing the playoff cut for the first time. Ellis, amid reports of a harsh work environment, moved on.
In the first full year under Ashton and Eidevall, the Wave’s offense improved and the team made the playoffs, but was bounced in one game.
Macario will give the Wave a better chance to rebound at the gate and on the pitch from the exodus of popular stars Alex Morgan (retirement in 2024), midfielder Jaedyn Shaw (traded at her request in January 2025) and defender Naomi Girma (who was transferred to Chelsea later that month for $1.1 million).
The Macario signing comes 16 months after Lauren Leichtman and Arthur Levine, founders of a private equity firm in Los Angeles, completed a $120-million purchase of the Wave.
The record contract “just shows how serious they are about me, and getting the club to succeed even more,” Macario said.
NWSL leaders facilitated the deal as well. Ashton said the league’s adoption four months ago of the High Impact Player Rule, allowing an exception to the salary cap, “came at an incredibly good time.”
Macario said she knows several Wave players and played with versatile fullback Perle Morroni on France’s top club team, Lyon.
Given that Macario has scored goals at an extraordinary pace throughout her career — with the Surf, Torrey Pines, Stanford, Lyon and Chelsea — there’s only one major concern about how her Wave career will play out:
Health.
A left ACL injury suffered in the final game of her season with Lyon four years ago cost her a full season.
An irritation in her right knee cost her a spot on the U.S. team that won gold at the 2024 Olympics in France.
She was sidelined in recent months at Chelsea, creating uncertainty about her Wave debut.
“We’re confident her best years are ahead,” Ashton said.
Macario offered no details Friday about when she’ll be ready to play for the Wave, who’ll face Chicago in a home game today.
Smiling, she suggested being in San Diego will improve her health.
“Maybe the skies were a little too gray for me,” she quipped about health setbacks in England and France. “The sunshine will help me heal a little bit quicker.”
For a franchise that was enveloped by clouds in 2024, the forecast grew much brighter Friday.
NASCAR will honor the 250th birthday of the United States and the US Navy’s 250th anniversary with a race brand new to the racing calendar.
The Anduril 250 will take place on a road course built on Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, California. The 3.4-mile track has 19 turns. The race is 255 miles total and drivers will do 75 laps.
Shane van Gisbergen, who is widely considered to be NASCAR’s best road course driver, will start in pole position. van Gisbergen has won seven road races in 14 total starts, and he is just two road wins away from tying Jeff Gordon’s record of nine.
nascar anduril 250: what to know
- When: June 21, 4 p.m. ET
- Where: Coronado Street Course (Naval Base Coronado, San Diego, California)
- Channel: Streaming exclusive
- Streaming: Prime Video (30 days free)
Here’s everything you need to know about today’s NASCAR Cup Series race on the Coronado Street Course.
NASCAR Cup race at San Diego start time:
Today’s (June 21) NASCAR race, the Anduril 250, begins at 4 p.m. ET.
What channel is today’s (June 21) NASCAR race on?
Today’s NASCAR race won’t be on traditional television; it will air exclusively on Prime Video.
How to watch the NASCAR Anduril 250 for free:
With Prime Video, you can also take advantage of the streamer’s Shop the Race storefront, exclusively on the Amazon mobile app, to shop gear, flags, and more for your favorite driver.
NASCAR San Diego starting lineup:
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Carson Hocevar
- Ryan Blaney
- Zane Smith
- Todd Gilliland
- Daniel Suárez
- Ryan Preece
- Connor Zilisch
- Michael McDowell
- Austin Hill
- Ty Gibbs
- Bubba Wallace
- Corey Heim
- Kyle Larson
- AJ Allmendinger
- Chris Buescher
- Tyler Reddick
- Austin Dillon
- Joey Logano
- Alex Bowman
- Kevin Magnussen
- Chase Briscoe
- Ross Chastain
- Riley Herbst
- Cole Custer
- Denny Hamlin
- William Byron
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Brad Keselowski
- Chase Elliott
- Austin Cindric
- Noah Gragson
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Ty Dillon
- Josh Berry
- Jimmie Johnson
- Christopher Bell
- Erik Jones
- Cody Ware
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Shane van Gisbergen earned his sixth career pole and second of the 2026 season on Saturday, rocketing to pole position around NASCAR’s all-new 3.4-mile street course at Naval Base Coronado. He even touched the wall twice on his fast lap, pushing to the absolute limit.
“A little bit (surprised),” said Van Gisbergen, who went out with the first group of qualifiers. “I thought the track would be better, and I thought people would execute a bit better. As I said, it’s just so difficult. There’s three or four corners you’re seeing for the first time of the day, and it’s on your heater. Amazing. The Red Bull Chevy is really good. Thank you to Trackhouse for doing a great job from yesterday, and we just need to get the driver a bit better,” he concluded with a smile.”
Watch: SVG surprised to win Busch Light Pole at San Diego
Van Gisbergen bested Carson Hocevar by 0.0156s with a fast lap of 2:14.788s. Ryan Blaney will start third, Zane Smith fourth, and Todd Gilliland fifth. Blaney was a little bit quicker than SVG for most of his lap, but lost it through the final set of corners.
Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece, Connor Zilisch, Michael McDowell, and Austin Hill will out the remainder of the top ten on the starting grid.
Project 91 driver Kevin Magnussen qualified 21st for his NASCAR Cup debut. Notably, championship leader Tyler Reddick spun out, but still reached 17th on the grid. Denny Hamlin is just 19 points behind him, and will start 26th.
Watch: Reddick loops it in Turn 2 during qualifying
Some other notable drivers very deep in the field include William Byron in 27th, Chase Elliott 30th, and an injured Christopher Bell 37th. He will have Brent Crews on standby, and may finish the race for Bell on Sunday.
Jimmie Johnson was the first driver to set a time, and showed just how tricky things were as he had to use the runoff area in Turn 2 to avoid an incident. Erik Jones also smacked the wall at the exit of Turn 16, but there were no red flags during the session.
NASCAR Cup San Diego ‘Anduril 250’ Full Starting Lineup
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