San Diego native Maddie Mercado leads Seattle Reign past visiting Wave FC

San Diego native Maddie Mercado scored the game-winning goal in the 29th minute as Seattle Reign FC defeated San Diego Wave FC 1-0 at Lumen Field on Sunday evening. The 25-year-old forward has now scored in both matches against her hometown team this season.

Mercado has continued her breakout season for Seattle, leading the team with eight goals. Claudia Dickey had a standout performance between the posts, logging six saves and securing a clean sheet before leaving the match late due to an injury. Reign backup goalkeeper Cassie Miller replaced Dickey late in the match.

Since returning from the summer break, Seattle remains unbeaten at home and has entered the playoff picture with this result. They handed San Diego its first loss since early August, snapping its two-game win streak. Wave FC is now tied for third place in the standings alongside the NC Courage and Utah Royals, with 39 points.

San Diego played with 10 players for most of the match after rookie defender Mimi Van Zanten made a questionable challenge during a Seattle transition play. Van Zanten and Kennedy Wesley were the last line of defense, and Van Zanten tripped Maddie Dahlien far away from the net.

After further review, the referee deemed the play a denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and gave her a red card in the 13th minute. Wave head coach Jonas Eidevall looked to his bench for defensive help, subbing on Brooklyn Courtnall for skilled forward Melanie Barcenas.

Seattle took advantage of having an extra player shortly after.

Sofia Huerta passed the ball to Dahlien on the left wing, and she sent the ball into the center of the box. The perfectly placed cross found Mercado’s head, and she scored into the top left corner of the net. Wave defender Perle Morroni had tight coverage, but it was not enough to stop the go-ahead goal.

Mercado now has nine goal contributions in 2026. She has established herself as one of the Reign's best players. Before playing collegiate soccer at the University of Notre Dame, she played for San Diego Surf Soccer Club and attended Cathedral Catholic High.

With a one-goal lead, Seattle continued its offensive momentum for the remainder of the first half. Wave goalkeeper Sandra Paños finished the game with three saves. San Diego did not generate many opportunities until the second half.

Perhaps the most dangerous shot attempt came from Wave midfielder and captain Kenza Dali on a free kick in the 65th minute. Dali’s shot went around the defensive wall and toward the left side of the goal, but Dickey’s quick reflexes stopped the shot.

In the 81st minute, Ludmila's close-range shot was blocked by the diving goalkeeper.

San Diego kept searching for the tying goal. They generated several chances late, but couldn’t score on the road. Wave held possession 59% of the time and had four more shot attempts than Seattle.

Wave FC returns to Snapdragon Stadium this Saturday, September 12, against a strong NC Courage team led by Ashley Sanchez and Evelyn Ijeh. Sanchez leads the NWSL with 18 goals and is coming off a hat-trick performance against Chicago in its 6-0 win. Ijeh also has double-digit goals (11) this year.

North Carolina has won three of its last four matches and will be a tough test for San Diego.