SAN DIEGO (May 15, 2026) – San Diego Wave FC defeated the Washington Spirit 2-1 on Friday night at Snapdragon Stadium with a milestone goal for Trinity Byars and an 89th minute game-winner from Kimmi Ascanio. 

San Diego opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Byars, making her first professional start, capitalized on a mis-cleared ball by the Spirit defense. The forward took two touches before firing a shot into the upper left corner, scoring the first goal of her professional career. 

Washington responded in the 33rd minute when midfielder Leicy Santos placed a corner kick to the head of Rebecca Bernal, who tucked away a header for the equalizer. 

Wave FC would find the victory in the dying minutes of the match as the home team was awarded a corner kick that Kenza Dali stepped up to take. The French veteran directed the ball in front of goal for 18-year-old Ascanio to secure the header and place the ball in an open net, finding the game-winning goal.

Next on the schedule: The Wave will travel to Houston to face the Dash on Wednesday, May 20 at Shell Energy Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 5:45 p.m. PT. The match will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network while fans in San Diego can attend the official Wave FC Watch Party at Embolden Beer Co.

Social: Twitter – @sandiegowavefc | Instagram – @sandiegowavefc | Facebook 

Notes: 

  • In Trinity Byars’ first start as a professional, she scored her first career goal.
  • Kimmi Ascanio scored her first goal of the season and the fifth of her career.
  • Kenza Dali assisted her second goal of the year.
  • The Wave ended the Spirit’s five-game win streak with tonight’s victory. 
  • San Diego extended its record to 5-0-0 when scoring the opening goal this season and tallied its fourth goal in the last 15 minutes of the second half, no team has more in the NWSL this season. 

Box Score:
San Diego Wave FC 2:1 Washington Spririt

Scoring Summary: 
SD – Byars (1) 6’
WAS – Bernal (2) (Santos, 2) 33’
SD – Ascanio (1) (Dali, 2) 89’

Misconduct Summary:
WAS – Rodman (Caution) 45+1’
WAS – Bernal (Caution) 54’
SD – Barcenas (Caution) 73’
WAS – González (Caution) 78’

San Diego Wave FC: GK Haraćiċ, D Morroni, D McNabb, D Wesley ©, D Van Zanten, M Ascanio, M Dali, M Corley (Godfrey HT), F Dudinha (Wynalda 89’), F Byars (Ludmila HT), F Portilho (Barcenas HT) 

Subs not used: GK Adudelo, D Arias, D Pickett, M Fusco, M Fazer 

Washington Spirit: GK MacIver, D Carle (Wiesner 90+4’), D Morgan, D Rudd, D Di Guglielmo (Bolt 90+4’), M Hershfelt, M Bernal (Sullivan 66’), M Santos, F Rodman, F Cantore (Monday 74’), F Martínez (Kouassi HT)

Subs not used: GK Collins, D Tsé, D Haugen

Stats Summary: SD / WAS
Shots: 9 / 7
Shots on Target: 4 / 4
Saves: 3 / 2
Corners: 3 / 6 
Fouls: 11 / 12
Offsides: 3 / 3 
Possession: 41.4% / 58.6% 

Attendance: 12,810