LOUISVILLE, Ky. (April 19, 2025) – San Diego Wave FC (2-2-1, 7 points) defeated Racing Louisville (1-2-2, 4 points) at Lynn Family Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Delphine Cascarino earned a brace and added to her league-leading third assist of the season, while Melanie Barcenas and Kenza Dali tallied their first goals of the season.
The Wave dominated early in the first half, logging 71% of the possession in the first 45 minutes. In the 17th minute, San Diego would find the lead when Kenza Dali scored the game’s opening goal. Following a foul outside the box, the French international stood over the ball and placed the free kick past a diving Katie Lund, giving the visiting side a 1-0 edge.
In the final minutes of the first half, Louisville earned a penalty kick following a review by the video assistant referee (VAR). Ary Borgen stepped up to the spot and capitalized on the opportunity to level the match heading into halftime.
Nearly five minutes into the second half, the Wave managed to regain the lead with a goal from Melanie Barcenas in the 50th minute. The opportunity began when Delphine Cascarino beat her defender and pushed by another to attack into the box and slot the ball back to Barcenas. The 17-year-old San Diego native, in her first start of 2025, snuck the ball through the defense to score her first goal of the season.
San Diego wasted little time to grab the third goal, when in the 60th minute, Cascarino found an opportunity to shoot outside the box that fell on frame and was bobbled by Lund and slipped through the legs of the Louisville goalkeeper.
The Wave would not ease off the accelerator and added another in the 77th minute when Cascarino earned her second of the match. Perle Morroni dribbled up the sideline and connected with her fellow French international teammate. Dali passed the ball off to Kimmi Ascanio, who laid it off for Cascarino, who took a cheeky cut and hit a perfectly placed ball to the back of the net to round out the scoring for the day.
Next Match: San Diego will continue the Club’s two-game road stretch and travel to face the Chicago Stars on Saturday, April 26, at SeatGeek Stadium. The match is slated to kick off at 4:30 p.m. PT, and it will be broadcast live on ION.
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Notes:
- San Diego’s four goals marked the first time the Club has scored four goals since May 8, 2022, against Gotham FC. It marked the first time the Wave had scored four goals on the road.
- Forward Delphine Cascarino secured her first NWSL career brace and recorded her league-leading third assist.
- Midfielder Kenza Dali scored her first NWSL goal.
- Midfielder Melanie Barcenas scored her first goal of the season and first-ever game-winning goal as the San Diego native earned her first start of the season.
- Barcenas is the eighth teenager to score in the league this season, and second for San Diego (Okwuchukwu).
- Kimmi Ascanio and Perle Morroni each recorded their first NWSL career assists.
- Midfielder Jordan Fusco made her NWSL debut as a substitute in the 93rd minute.
- The Wave out-possessed (65-35) and had more shots on frame (6-2) than Racing.
Box Score:
San Diego Wave FC 4:1 Racing Louisville FC
Scoring Summary:
SD – Dali (1) 17’
LOU – Borges (1) 45+6’
SD – Barcenas (1) (Cascarino, 3) 50’
SD – Cascarino (1) (Morroni, 1) 60’
SD – Cascarino (2) (Ascanio, 1) 77’
Misconduct Summary:
LOU – Hase (Caution) 40’
LOU – Fischer (Caution) 45’
San Diego Wave FC: GK Sheridan ©, D Morroni, D Lundkvist, D Wesley, D Armstrong, M Corley (Ascanio 65’), M Dali (Fusco 90+3’), M McCaskill, F Cascarino (Robbe 80’), F Leon (Okwuchukwu HT), F Barcenas (Sánchez 65’)
Subs not used: GK Haračić, D McNabb, D Harrison, M Emmanuel
Racing Louisville FC: GK Lund, D Milliet, D Wright ©, D Jean, D Hase, M Borges, M DiGrande (Pikkujamsa 82’), M O’Kane (Sonis 56’), M Weber (DeMelo 57’), F Fischer, F Sears
Subs not used: GK Bloomer, D George, D Petersen, D Baron, M Baggett, F Kanu
Stats Summary: SD / LOU
Shots: 12 / 14
Shots on Target: 6 / 2
Corners: 3 / 3
Fouls: 10 / 18
Offsides: 1 / 5
Saves: 1 / 2
Possession: 65% / 35%
