The Washington Spirit and San Diego Wave will meet Friday with second place on the line, and the matchup brings together two of the NWSL’s brightest young attackers in Dudinha and Claudia Martínez.
Dudinha, 20, has been one of San Diego’s most reliable threats in her second season with the Wave. She has started all nine games this season, producing three goals and four assists in 842 minutes, while also securing plenty of game time for Brazil. Martínez, 18, arrived at the Spirit over the offseason for a reported $950,000 and has already scored three times in 338 minutes. All three of her goals have come in her last four appearances, giving Washington a new edge in a tight race near the top of the table.
For San Diego, Dudinha’s rise has continued from where she left off last year. She joined midway through last season and was already scoring by September, finishing with five goals through five games leading up to the playoffs. The Wave did not get past the quarterfinals, but Dudinha’s numbers have held up into this year. She ranks sixth among NWSL players with a minimum of 500 minutes played in goals added and sits third in the league in dribbling g+ behind Barbra Banda and Croix Bethune, a sign of how often she turns possession into danger.
Her production has also shown up in decisive moments. Her first assist of the season helped secure a major win against the Portland Thorns, she set up both goals in a 2-0 win against the Chicago Stars, and her ball to Mimi Van Zanten proved to be the game-winner against Angel City. That kind of final-third influence is part of what makes the meeting with Martínez so attractive: one winger is established in the league’s upper tier, while the other is still forcing her way into the conversation with a fast start and a big transfer fee behind her.
The tension in Friday’s meeting is obvious. San Diego needs Dudinha’s consistency to keep pressing the top teams, while Washington has already found that Martínez can change a match in limited minutes. The Spirit may have bought a future star, but she is producing now. The Wave may have a proven playmaker in Dudinha, but they still need points in a direct battle that could reshape the standings by night’s end.
