Ludmila's First Wave Goal Beats Boston Legacy 1-0 and Extends San Diego's Club-Record Win Streak

Sixty-three minutes into a scrappy Friday night in Foxborough, Kimmi Ascanio picked up the ball in midfield, looked up and saw a lane. One pass, one touch and one curler from Ludmila later, San Diego Wave FC had the only goal it would need, and a franchise record to go with it.

The Wave beat Boston Legacy FC 1-0 at Gillette Stadium in front of 10,213 fans. Ludmila's 63rd-minute finish, her first goal for San Diego, gave the Wave their fourth straight win, which the club says is the longest winning streak in its history. Boston, meanwhile, played the visitors close for long stretches but never forced Leah Freeman into a single save.

A First Half Built on Fouls and Flags

This was not a game for the highlight reel early. San Diego pressed high from the start, and three of its early forays forward ended with an offside flag: Ludmila in the eighth minute, Dudinha in the 12th and Ludmila again in the 15th. The Wave finished the night caught offside four times. Boston was caught zero times.

The Legacy settled in and found some rhythm. Sammy Smith headed an Alba Caño corner high in the 14th minute, Amanda Gutierres fired over from distance in the 21st, and Aïssata Traoré sent a shot wide right from outside the box in the 31st. San Diego's best looks of the half both fell to right back Mimi Van Zanten, who headed a Lia Godfrey ball wide in the 30th minute and sent a left-footed effort over two minutes later.

It was a physical half, too. Jorelyn Carabalí was booked in the 36th minute, and Boston would finish the night with 19 fouls to San Diego's 13. Caño tried her luck from more than 35 yards in stoppage time, and Annie Karich dragged one wide left before the whistle. Scoreless at the break, and Boston had every reason to feel good about it.

Portilho Changes the Temperature

San Diego made one change at halftime, sending on Gabi Portilho for Laurina Fazer, and the change sharpened the Wave almost immediately. Portilho forced the game's first save in the 54th minute, drilling a shot from the right side of the box that Casey Murphy held. Boston answered through Traoré, whose header from the middle of the box in the 58th minute slid wide.

Then came the moment. In the 63rd minute Ascanio carried the ball through the center and threaded a pass into the box for Ludmila, who took one touch on the left side and bent a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner, inside the far post. 1-0 Wave. Per the club, it was Ludmila's first goal of the season and her first in a San Diego shirt, and Ascanio's assist was her first of 2026.

The Turning Point: Boston's Near Misses

Boston's response was immediate and nearly worked. A minute after the goal, Bárbara Olivieri fired high and wide from the left side of the box. In the 67th minute Traoré met a Caño set piece with a header that drifted just past the right post. Those two chances were the closest the Legacy came to their first point of the season, and neither tested Freeman.

The Legacy threw on Aleigh Gambone and Fauzia Najjemba in the 72nd minute and three more substitutes in the 84th, Josefine Hasbo, Chloe Ricketts and Amanda Allen. San Diego responded by adding Melanie Barcenas, whose low shot in the 81st minute forced Murphy into her second save, and who nearly doubled the lead in the 88th minute when she pulled a Van Zanten cross narrowly wide. Portilho's speculative shot from distance deep in stoppage time was the last attempt of the night.

The Night's Standouts

Ludmila only took one shot, and she made it count. The Brazilian international was a constant nuisance to Boston's back line, drawing three fouls and twice getting caught pushing the offside line in the first half before she finally timed her run perfectly.

Ascanio was the quiet architect. The goal came from her vision through the middle of the park, and it was the kind of pass that turns a 0-0 grind into three points.

Freeman did not have to make a save, but her second straight shutout, per the Wave, belongs to the whole back line. Kristen McNabb, Kennedy Wesley, Perle Morroni and Van Zanten held Boston to eight shots and zero on target. McNabb also made her 87th regular-season appearance for San Diego, which the club says is the most in its history.

For Boston, Murphy made two saves and Traoré was the most dangerous attacker with three shots, two of them headers.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Boston 8, San Diego 8.
• Shots on target: San Diego 3, Boston 0.
• Possession: San Diego 53.8 percent, Boston 46.2 percent.
• Fouls: Boston 19, San Diego 13.
• Tackles: Boston 34, San Diego 28.

What It Means

San Diego moves to 4-0-1 with 12 points. After opening the season with a home loss to the Houston Dash, the Wave have rattled off wins at Utah, at home over Portland and Chicago, and now at Boston. The club said this matches the best start in franchise history through five matches. San Diego returns from the international break on April 25 at Denver Summit FC.

Boston falls to 0-0-4 with no points. Three of the Legacy's four defeats have come by one goal, including a 1-0 loss to Gotham FC and a 2-1 loss to the Utah Royals, and they have scored once in four matches. Their next match is at the Chicago Stars on April 25.

Closing Take

Every team on a winning streak needs a game like this one, a night where nothing flows and one moment of quality bails everyone out. San Diego got that moment from Ascanio and Ludmila. Boston got a close scoreline and an honest lesson: competitive is not the same as dangerous, and zero shots on target will not win many games. The Wave keep surfing. The Legacy keep waiting.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional match details from SanDiegoWaveFC.com and BostonLegacyFC.com; neither club's recap carried postgame quotes.