Dudinha, Washington Spirit And San Diego Wave Chase Second Place Friday — Washington Spirit Vs San Diego Wave
Washington Spirit vs San Diego Wave carries second place on Friday, with both teams separated by the race at the top of the NWSL table. Dudinha and Claudia Martínez are the names driving the matchup, and both have already turned short stretches of minutes into goals.
Dudinha’s San Diego edge
Dudinha has become the cleaner production line in the race. The 20-year-old has started all nine games this season, posting three goals and four assists in 842 minutes for San Diego.
That output extends what she showed after joining the Wave midway through last season. She had five goals through five games leading up to the playoffs then, and she has kept the same rhythm this year with a goal against Angel City on Sunday before setting up Mimi Van Zanten for the winner.
The numbers put her in rare company around the league. Among NWSL players with at least 500 minutes played, she is sixth in goals added and third in dribbling g+ behind Barbra Banda and Croix Bethune. San Diego has also used her delivery in different ways: her first assist of the season helped beat the Portland Thorns, she assisted both goals in a 2-0 win against the Chicago Stars, and her cross to Van Zanten decided the Angel City match.
Claudia Martínez for Washington
Martínez has answered with shorter bursts of her own. The 18-year-old joined the Washington Spirit for a reported $950,000 over the offseason and has scored three goals in 338 minutes.
All three of those goals came in her last four appearances. Washington does not have the same minute load from her that San Diego gets from Dudinha, but the finish rate has arrived quickly enough to keep her in the middle of a second-place fight.
That contrast is the sharpest part of Friday’s matchup. Dudinha has built her case over nine starts and 842 minutes, while Martínez has made a smaller sample count with three goals in 338 minutes. Both attackers have already changed games, and both teams now meet with second place in play.
Friday’s meeting gives the Spirit and Wave a direct read on where they stand against each other. If Dudinha keeps creating from the wing and Martínez keeps scoring at her current pace, the result will come down to which young attacker changes the game first.
