Photo Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Three National Women’s Soccer League games were played on Saturday, beginning with the Boston Legacy drawing NJ/NY Gotham FC 1-1 in front of the New York City mayor and a record crowd. Then, in Southern California, the San Diego Wave defeated Angel City FC 2-1. Finally, Houston weather delayed but could not stop the Denver Summit from routing the Dash 4-1.
Denver Summit wins in style
The Denver Summit’s second-ever win in franchise history tied the league record for most goals scored by an expansion team in its inaugural season. San Diego was the only other team to accomplish this in 2022 against Gotham.
The visiting Summit were not at all put off by the hour-and-a-half weather delay before kickoff as Janine Sonis opened the scoring in the 15th minute, connecting with an assist from Yazmeen Ryan. Natasha Flint scored her fourth goal of the season 20 minutes later to double Denver’s lead.
Houston pulled a goal back just before halftime from the penalty spot, but the Summit added two more in the second half to solidify the win. Delanie Sheehan scored her first goal as a member of the Summit just four minutes after the break, aided by Ayo Oke’s first career assist. In the 72nd minute, Sonis and Ryan connected for the second time, adding the final goal of the dominant victory.
Mimi Van Zanten’s first pro goal is SoCal derby winner
San Diego came out on top in the battle of Southern California clubs on a visit to Los Angeles’ BMO Stadium. The Wave opened the scoring shortly after halftime through Brazilian forward Dudinha, her third goal of the season, while midfielder Kimmi Ascanio recorded her third assist of the year.
Angel City found an equalizer nearly five minutes later with a defender connection when Sarah Gorden delivered a first-time cross toward the back post that fell to Emily Sams, who finished from close range.
The Wave secured the win in stoppage time when Dudinha added an assist to her impressive night, delivering a ball to the back post that was headed in by Mimi Van Zanten. The rookie’s first professional goal was also the game-winner. The 20-year-old defender signed with San Diego ahead of the 2026 season after a three-year collegiate career at Florida State University, where she won two NCAA Championships.
San Diego was led on the sidelines by former ACFC head coach Becki Tweed. She stepped in for Wave head coach Jonas Eidevall, who was serving a one-game suspension for a red card. Tweed led the Wave as the interim head coach for the second half of the 2023 season and had the interim tag removed for the 2024 season, after which she departed the club.
Claire Emslie returns right before first Mother’s Day
Angel City forward Claire Emslie made her return to the field the day before Mother’s Day as she made an NWSL appearance for the first time since becoming a mother. Emslie welcomed her son, Jamie, in December 2025. The Scot’s last appearance came nearly exactly a year ago, on May 10, 2025, in a 2-0 win over Utah.
The first-time mom has been with Angel City since the club’s inaugural season in 2022 and holds the record for most goals in club history with 16 across all competitions.
Boston defense stands firm in front of record New York crowd
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani and U.S. women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes were among the 11,308 fans at Sports Illustrated Stadium Saturday to watch Gotham take on the Legacy. It was the fourth-largest regular season attendance in club history, filling the lower bowl. For the match, Gotham FC sold 1,000 tickets to New Yorkers for just $5 each in partnership with Mamdani.
Midfielder Jaedyn Shaw opened the scoring in the 37th minute with her 20th career NWSL regular season goal. The tally made Shaw the second-youngest player in league history behind Olivia Moultrie to reach the milestone.
Boston equalized just three minutes later to earn its first-ever road point in franchise history. Alba Caño scored on an assist from Barbara Olivieri. The Legacy are now unbeaten in three games and have scored six goals in those three games, after only scoring one in their first five.
In the final minutes, Boston’s defense put on a crucial display. An 88th-minute scramble in the box led to a diving goal-line save from Casey Murphy that rebounded directly to a Gotham attacker within the six-yard box – the follow-up shot was blocked by a sliding Jorelyn Carabalí right at the post. In stoppage time, Carabalí came up big again with a goal-line clearance.
