It goes without saying that the name Wynalda needs no introduction for San Diego soccer fans.
For many, the name brings back sweet memories and a sense of pride about Eric Wynalda’s play for San Diego State University while on the rise as the future star of the United States men’s national team. He also helped lead the Aztecs to the 1987 national championship game.
As luck would have it, his daughter, Tatum, 21, is continuing the Wynalda legacy in San Diego.
She stepped on the pitch for San Diego Wave FC for the first time Feb. 15 in a preseason match against the Kansas City Current at the Coachella Valley Invitational.
“It was super surreal,” she said. “Seeing these stars that I watched on TV these past few years in college, Ally Sentnor, Croix Bethune and all these greats. The fact that I got to even step on the field and play against them was super fun.”
Her mom, Amy Ward, is also a decorated former soccer player at San Diego State and Cal Lutheran, where she made an NCAA Final Four appearance for the Regals in 1999.
During her college days at Pepperdine University, Wynalda made 34 starts in her 59 matches, scoring 18 goals, including two game winners. She was named to the 2021 Elite Clubs National League Girls National Selection team while with LAFC SoCal Youth.
While in college, she said of her father, “Soccer has made us really close, and I’m really grateful for that. He’s a big presence in my life for that reason. He says he sees a lot of himself in me, and I obviously take that as a compliment.”
Wynalda has appeared in eight regular season matches with the Wave, most recently in the final minutes of a 2-0 win over the Chicago Stars on May 31.
Since joining the Wave, she has transitioned to more of an outside back role while still finding a way to be part of the offensive attack.
“Definitely not the role that I was expecting to play here, but it’s been a lot of fun,” she said. “It’s been really helpful in my development learning how to defend one versus one for the first time and all these things I never had to learn. It’s been a part of the growing process and the growing pains, but overall it’s helped me so much.”
Her newly developed skills on the backline may be put to the test as soon as Saturday, when the Wave returns to Snapdragon Stadium from the summer break to take on Gotham FC, which has the best defense in the league.
Gotham has given up only five goals all season along, led by former Wave forward Jaedyn Shaw, who has four goals in just eight games.
“It’s obviously difficult to come on to a game when it’s super high intensity, (full of) adrenaline, everything like that,” said Tatum. “I feel so grateful that I’ve even had the opportunity to step on the field this season. I totally came in with the expectation that I’m just going to support the team in whatever role that is.”
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