San Diego Wave’s Dudinha scores against the Portland Thorns on March 25, 2026, at Snapdragon Stadium. Photo by Nate Tubbs/EVT
San Diego Wave FC walked into Snapdragon Stadium tonight with vengeance on its mind. After Portland bounced them from the playoffs last year, the Wave have the chance for an early leg up in 2026.

SAN DIEGO — After a strong road win against Utah in week two, the SD Wave were riding some momentum going into a two-match homestand.

The scoring got started early for the Wave with Dudinha finding the back of the net in the second minute.  Her second goal of the season was a beautiful right-footed strike. The Brazilian forward has been a major part of San Diego’s offensive production so far this season.

Portland answers back

It didn’t take long for Portland to answer, with Peitra Tordin scoring the equalizer in the eighth. A bit of an unlucky break for Wave keeper Leah Freeman, because the ball took a hard ricochet off the post that provided an easy second-chance angle for the Tordin.

After a chaotic series of shots in Portland’s box, the Wave jumped back in front with a Lia Godfrey goal in the 27th minute. The rookie now has two goals on the season already, stepping into the needed scoring gap that’s been presented by San Diego’s roster changes. Her effort kept the Wave in front 2-1 going into halftime.

San Diego Wave’s Lia Godfrey centers the ball at Snapdragon Stadium on March 25, 2026. Photo by Nate Tubbs/EVT.
A strong second half for San Diego

Wave FC kept their foot down in the second half, something coach Jonas Eidevall and his squad have been focused on after their week one defeat. They ended up with a 65/35 possession split at the final whistle.

That momentum crescendoed in the form of a splendid touch from Kenza Dali to Melanie Barcenas, who put the game away on a second attempt goal. This is Barcenas’ third career goal and first of the season, joining Dudinha and Godfrey in the scoring column.

San Diego Wave’s Melanie Barcenas (7) celebrates after scoring a goal at Snapdragon Stadium on March 25, 2026. Photo by Nate Tubbs/EVT.

SD Wave FC came into the match with the second most shots (24) and shots on target produced (15). They tacked on another 18 shots, with 11 on target tonight.

The thorn in the Wave’s side

The two West Coast clubs have a history of intense battles, most recently in last year’s NWSL playoff quarterfinals. Portland edged out a victory in extra time after a scoreless 90 minutes, a brutal way for San Diego to see its season end.

San Diego Wave fan celebrates after a goal at Snapdragon Stadium on March 25, 2026. Photo by Nate Tubbs/EVT.

Portland entered the building with six points already, defeating Washington and their rivals, the Seattle Reign, to open their season. In stopping the Thorn’s perfect start, San Diego’s three points bring them to a tie at the top of the leaderboard.

They are among three other teams atop the NWSL standings, as Seattle (2-1-0), Houston (2-0-0), and Angel City (2-0-0) all have two wins so far.

Angel City will be hosting Houston on Friday, March 27, which will produce a new league leader, or co-leader, depending on the outcome.

The Wave’s next contest

It was Dudinha and Lia Godfrey who got the scoring done in San Diego’s  2-1 victory in game two. Then the two again in game three, with some added flair from Barcenas. Game four will be at home on March 28, with the offense starting to find its identity.

San Diego is hosting the Chicago Stars in that contest. Their star, Mallory Swanson, is out on maternity leave until the second half of the season, and the team is off to a 1-2-0 start.

Sophia Wilson is just now coming off maternity leave for Portland. The USWNT star was showered with “welcome backs” from the seats. Wilson and Swanson are two-thirds of the ‘triple espresso,’ the third being the Washington Spirit’s Trinity Rodman.

Portland Thorns’ Sophia Wilson warms up before entering the game against the SD Wave at Snapdragon Stadium on March 25, 2026. Photo by Nate Tubbs/EVT.

San Diego will see Washington for the first time in the middle of May. By then, they hope to have a USWNT weapon of their own, Catarina Macario, settled in.

The team has yet to officially announce Macario’s acquisition, but there are chatters of a potential debut on Saturday.

Nate Tubbs is a recent graduate of Journalism at San Diego State University. In his time at SDSU, he wrote and photographed several different sports for Aztec Link, the school’s NIL collective. He also co-hosted a weekly podcast featuring Aztec athletes, sharing their stories and goals for the season. Tubbs is passionate about photography, storytelling, and most of all, San Diego sports.

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