Rookie Mimi Van Zanten's Late Header Lifts San Diego Wave Past Angel City 2-1 in SoCal Derby

Rookies are not supposed to decide derbies. Somebody forgot to tell Mimi Van Zanten. With nine minutes left in a tense, scrappy Southern California rivalry game, the San Diego Wave FC defender ghosted to the right side of the six-yard box, met a Dudinha cross with her head and steered it into the bottom right corner for the first professional goal of her career.

San Diego beat Angel City FC 2-1 on Saturday evening at BMO Stadium in front of 17,169 fans. Dudinha scored and assisted, Emily Sams answered for Angel City, and Van Zanten's 81st-minute header handed the hosts their fourth straight loss. The Wave did it without their head coach on the touchline, too.

A First Half of Near Misses

Both clubs had their moments before the break, and both defenses had answers. Kennedy Fuller fired high and wide for Angel City in the 10th minute after Sveindís Jónsdóttir teed her up. Angel City's own recap credited Sams with a timely tackle on Dudinha in the 12th minute, and Sarah Gorden with a block on another Dudinha run in the 23rd after the Brazilian broke from midfield. Gorden was booked for a bad foul in the 32nd.

Angel City's best look came in the 38th minute, when Taylor Suarez won the ball outside the box and let fly from the middle, only for DiDi Haračić to stop it. San Diego answered in the 41st with a Perle Morroni drive from distance that Angelina Anderson saved. Jun Endo and Jónsdóttir had shots blocked a minute before halftime, and the teams went in scoreless.

Angel City head coach Alex Straus liked what he saw. "We were very, very happy with our first half," he said afterward.

Four Minutes, Two Goals

Both teams made halftime changes. Prisca Chilufya replaced Endo for Angel City, while San Diego brought on Lia Godfrey and Trinity Byars for Gia Corley and Ludmila. Godfrey had a shot blocked within two minutes of coming on, and San Diego struck soon after. In the 49th minute, Dudinha set off from the left side of the box and fired a shot that took a deflection on its way in; the Wave said it came off Gorden. ESPN credited Kimmi Ascanio with the assist, and the Wave said it was her third of the season and Dudinha's third goal.

Angel City hit back fast. Chilufya had a header blocked in the 52nd, the corners started stacking up, and in the 54th Gorden pounced on a half-clearance and lifted a cross into the box. Sams slid in and finished from the left side of the six-yard box. Angel City said it was the first assist of Gorden's professional career. That made it 1-1, and the derby had a heartbeat again.

The Turning Point

The middle stretch belonged to nobody. Kenza Dali had two efforts in the 65th and 67th minutes, Anderson saved from Melanie Barcenas in the 73rd, Haračić stopped another Suarez shot at the other end, and Anderson denied Godfrey from distance in the 77th. Ary Borges headed just wide off a corner in the 79th, the last clear chance Angel City would get.

Two minutes later, San Diego found its winner. According to the Wave, Godfrey found Dudinha with space on the left wing, and Dudinha drove at the defense before whipping a ball across the goal. Van Zanten beat both her marker and Anderson to it. Angel City never seriously threatened again, and Dudinha left with an injury in stoppage time.

Rookies and a Brazilian Engine

Mimi Van Zanten needed one shot to win it. The Wave said the rookie's winner was the first goal of her professional career.

Dudinha scored on one of her three shots and assisted the winner. The club said her goal was the 200th scored by a Brazilian player in NWSL history, and her assist was her fourth of the season, tied for the league lead with Portland's Olivia Moultrie.

Lia Godfrey changed the game off the bench with two shots and a hand in the winning move. San Diego said it is the first team this season to have two rookies score, and that it has the most game-winning goals by rookies: three from Godfrey and one from Van Zanten.

For Angel City, Emily Sams scored and defended well, Sarah Gorden picked up her first assist, and Angelina Anderson made three saves.

By the Numbers

• Shots: San Diego 11, Angel City 9.
• Shots on target: San Diego 5, Angel City 3.
• Possession: San Diego 55.6 percent, Angel City 44.4.
• Fouls: Angel City 19, San Diego 8.
• Corners: Angel City 6, San Diego 1.

Where Both Sides Stand

San Diego improves to six wins, no draws and three losses with 18 points, and it snapped a two-match skid after losses at Portland and at home to Bay FC. The Wave have now won four of their five road matches. Assistant coach Becki Tweed ran the sideline, per the club, because head coach Jonas Eidevall was serving a red card suspension. Angel City's recap noted Tweed is a former Angel City head coach, which adds a nice bit of spice. San Diego hosts the Washington Spirit on Friday, May 15.

Angel City falls to three wins, no draws and four losses with nine points. After a 3-0 start, the club has lost four straight, and its recap noted this was its fifth consecutive match decided by a single goal. Angel City visits the Portland Thorns on Sunday, May 17, its first road match since early April.

The Final Word

Nealy Martin did not sugarcoat it. "It's a good reality check for us, and it's still early in the year," she said. "We can choose to go one of two ways." Gorden summed up the night just as plainly: "But it's hard not to look past the disappointment of the result overall." For San Diego, this was a coming-of-age story with a rookie in the lead role. For Angel City, it was another one-goal sequel nobody asked for.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and additional details as reported by AngelCity.com and SanDiegoWaveFC.com.