The San Diego Wave sit in second place in the National Women’s Soccer League standings heading into Saturday night’s match against Bay FC at Snapdragon Stadium.
The club’s emergence in 2026 is in large part to the play of rookie midfielder Lia Godfrey, who has added another scoring threat to a team that already featured several playmakers.
Two months into her career, Godfrey has broken the Wave rookie record for most goals in a season (four and counting), has been named NWSL Rookie of the Month and earned a spot on the NWSL Best XI of the Month for March.
“A dream start for me, honestly,” Godfrey said. “I never would have thought that this is how I would have started my career in the NWSL.”
Gofrey showed her talent in the first start of her career, a March 22 game against the Utah Royals.
The match was tied in the 87th minute. Midfielder Kimmi Ascanio was cutting across the pitch trying to find a teammate and found captain Kenza Dali. The veteran midfielder stayed patient as she watched Godfrey make her move behind the defense. Once she did, Dali delivered the perfect pass; Godfrey turned and fired in the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory that started a winning streak.
“Everyone dreams of this moment as you’re growing up, whether you’re coming from high school or from college, and my parents were there, too,” Godfrey said. “I was really happy to share that moment with them.”
After scoring, Godfrey immediately ran over to Dali, who told her something she will never forget.
“I say I’m a part of history because I assisted her in her first goal and Perle (Morroni) as well,” Dali said. “So, it’s really good to be there. Never forget about me, and that’s a good thing.”
Godfrey laughed when thinking about that moment.
“I’ll never forget it,” Godfrey said.
The young midfielder wants to learn everything she possibly can from Dali. There was one piece of advice Dali said Godfrey took and ran with it.
“I said to her, the most difficult thing is the first one,” Dali said, adding she told Godfrey “to keep scoring, and she kept doing that.”
Three days later, Godfrey scored her second one. The Wave and Portland Thorns were tied 1-1 in the 27th minute. The ball was recovered in the Thorns’ box after a shot was blocked, falling to Dudinha. She sent a pass across the box to an open Godfrey, who kicked it into the back of the net for the go-ahead goal.
“I think she has a composure element to her game like you see with her finishing,” Wave head coach Jonas Eidevall said. “It’s very composed finishing. On target with the right timing.”
San Diego Wave FC
The San Diego Wave’s Lia Godfrey attempts a shot during Wednesday’s 2-0 loss to the Portland Thorns at Providence Park in Portland, Ore. (San Diego Wave FC)
Godfrey’s most impressive goal came in the following game against Chicago, when she received a pass that led her into the box. As a defender closed in, she left the ball behind her back, then fired a shot between two defenders and the goalkeeper to give San Diego a 1-0 lead. The Wave went on to win 2-0 after a late goal by Melanie Barcenas.
Godfrey’s fourth goal came against Denver with the Wave trailing 2-0 coming out of halftime and needing a difference-maker to wake them up. She passed the ball to Ascanio at the top of the box, then made her run. Ascanio stayed patient, waited for Godfrey to slice through the defense and sent her a nice pass for the goal. That started the comeback, and the Wave won 3-2.
Ascanio calls Godfrey “a really special player.”
“She’s a great person off the field, too, and I think she’s given us a lot,” Ascanio said. “I mean, scoring consistently is one of the hardest things to do, and the way she’s able to do that is incredible, and puts us in a really good position.”
A year ago, Godfrey was at the University of Virginia, playing soccer and going to class. She signed with San Diego in part because of Eidevall, who runs a similar formation to what Godrey played in college.
Still, pro soccer was an adjustment. Godfrey immediately noticed that everyone on the team knew exactly where to go, how to train and where to position themselves.
There was also the intensity of practice and the reality of soccer becoming a full-time job.
“It was definitely like I got smacked in the face like, ‘OK, yeah, we’re starting, we’re here, I’m ready to go,’” Godfrey recalled.
She adjusted quickly.
“She’s very game intelligent, so she’s a quick learner,” Eidevall said. “She absorbs new situations quickly.”
Despite the individual stats, Godfrey considers herself a team-first player. She praised her teammates for being “creative minds” and “smart, high-IQ players.”
The same goes for Godfrey, who has been a spark behind the Wave’s blazing start.
“She’s already really important,” Dali said. “She has so much potential, so I can’t wait to see her develop here.”
San Diego Wave (5-2-0) vs. Bay FC (2-3-0)
When: 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Snapdragon Stadium