Lia Godfrey Sparks San Diego Wave Comeback From 2-0 Down to Beat Denver Summit 3-2

For 45 minutes on Saturday night, Denver Summit FC looked like the expansion club nobody wanted on their calendar. Melissa Kössler had scored what the Summit called the first home goal in club history, Natasha Flint had doubled the lead with a header from an angle that should not have worked, and 16,932 people at Dick's Sporting Goods Park were living their best lives.

Then San Diego Wave FC walked out for the second half and rewrote the script. Lia Godfrey scored in the 49th minute, set up Kennedy Wesley's equalizer in the 57th, and a Carson Pickett own goal in the 65th finished off a 3-2 comeback win for the Wave. It was San Diego's fifth straight victory, which the club says is a franchise-record winning streak, and it lifted the Wave to five wins and one loss through six matches.

Denver Had the Script Written

The Summit came out with real purpose. In the 16th minute, Yazmeen Ryan slipped the ball to Kössler, who finished with her right foot from point-blank range. San Diego's best reply in the first half hour belonged to Dudinha, whose shot from outside the box in the 22nd minute went straight at Abby Smith.

The second Denver goal was all about stubbornness. In the 32nd minute, Flint had a right-footed shot blocked from the middle of the box, then in the same minute got her head on the ball from a difficult angle on the left and sent it into the top of the net.

It nearly got uglier for the visitors. In the second minute of first-half stoppage time, Megan Reid met a Janine Sonis set-piece delivery and headed it off the crossbar. At the break it was 2-0, and a third Denver goal looked likelier than a first for San Diego.

Sixteen Minutes of Chaos

Some context on how unlikely the next stretch was: according to the Wave, San Diego had never won a regular-season match after trailing at halftime. The fightback started four minutes into the second half.

In the 49th minute, Godfrey and Kimmi Ascanio worked a quick give-and-go, and the rookie calmly slotted a right-footed finish from the center of the box into the bottom right corner. The goal was her fourth of the season, which the Wave say is a club record for goals by a rookie. Four goals by late April is a pace that gets a rookie noticed fast.

Denver's composure started to fray. Ayo Oke was booked in the 55th minute, and two minutes later San Diego punished the Summit from a dead ball. Godfrey swung a corner toward the near post, Wesley won the header from the right side of the six-yard box, and the ball nestled into the bottom left corner. 2-2. Kaleigh Kurtz picked up a yellow card two minutes after that, and Denver swapped Oke out for Yuna McCormack in the 60th minute.

The winner, when it came, was brutal for the home side. Dudinha beat her defender to the end line in the 65th minute and drove a ball across the face of goal, and it went in off Pickett. Three San Diego goals in 16 minutes, and a half's worth of Denver work was gone.

Godfrey Ran the Show

Godfrey's stat line was ruthlessly efficient: one shot, one goal, one assist. Per the Wave, the assist was the first of her professional career, and she became the first rookie in club history to record a goal and an assist in the same match. She played until the first minute of stoppage time, when Jordan Fusco replaced her.

Wesley's header was her first goal of 2026, according to the club. As a team, the Wave won the physical battle, making 16 tackles to Denver's eight, and once San Diego went ahead, the Summit managed just one more shot on target.

Dudinha was a nuisance all night: two shots, one on target, three fouls drawn, two offside flags and the cross that produced the winner. She came off injured in stoppage time, with Trinity Byars making her season debut in her place, per the club. Ascanio's assist was her second of the season.

For Denver, Flint finished with three shots, two on target and a goal, while Kössler scored on one of her two attempts and Ryan added the assist. The Summit also noted a milestone for Kurtz, who played her 120th consecutive NWSL game.

The Turning Point

Call it the first four minutes of the second half. Denver had held San Diego's possession at arm's length before the break, but once Godfrey scored, the momentum flipped completely. By the Summit's own count, San Diego had 63 percent of the ball after halftime, and the equalizer and the winner both came in the next 16 minutes.

Reid forced a save from Leah Freeman in the bottom right corner in the 71st minute, and the Summit made a triple change a minute later, sending on Olivia Thomas, Eva Gaetino and Emma Regan. Yuzuki Yamamoto made her NWSL debut in the 85th minute, per the club. Ryan fired high and wide in the 85th minute and just over the bar in the sixth minute of stoppage time, and Smith kept the margin at one by saving a long-range effort from Kenza Dali in the fifth.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: San Diego 56.7 percent, Denver 43.3.
• Shots: Denver led 9-7, but both teams put four on target.
• Passing: San Diego completed 371 of 468 passes; Denver completed 283 of 360.
• Tackles: San Diego 16, Denver 8.
• Cards: Denver collected three yellows to San Diego's one.

What It Means

San Diego is now 5-0-1 with 15 points. Since losing its opener at home to the Houston Dash, the Wave have won at Utah, beaten Portland and Chicago at home, won at Boston and now come from two goals down in Colorado. Next up is a Wednesday trip to Portland on April 29, according to the Wave.

Denver falls to 1-3-2 with six points. The loss ended a four-match unbeaten run that included a draw at Orlando, a win at Gotham, a scoreless home draw with Washington and another 0-0 at Seattle. It was also the Summit's first home defeat, in only their second home match. Next up is a trip to Boston Legacy FC on May 3.

Closing Take

Denver wrote a terrific first act, the kind that gets an expansion fan base hooked for life. San Diego simply showed up with a better ending. Every streak needs a night where the winning team has to dig, and the Wave's fifth straight came out of a 2-0 hole with a rookie holding the shovel.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional match details from SanDiegoWaveFC.com and DenverSummitFC.com.