Melanie Barcenas has been breaking National Women’s Soccer League records since she was 15 years old — 15 years and 138 days to be exact.
The 18-year-old San Diego Wave forward added another on Saturday, scoring her seventh goal of the season in the fourth minute of a 2-1 win over the North Carolina Courage. The goal made Barcenas the first teenager in league history to score seven goals in a single season, surpassing an impressive group of players who previously shared the record of six goals including Sam Kerr, Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman, Jaedyn Shaw and Emeri Adams.
“I am just really looking forward to getting back home and getting In-N-Out,” Barcenas told The Athletic, describing her typical post-match celebration. The popular California burger joint has become a post-game tradition for her family. Though this record-breaking game was played on the East Coast, the San Diego-native estimates that on any given home match day 13 to 15 relatives and friends are in attendance.
Born and raised in San Diego, Barcenas was just 10 years old when she accompanied Brazil women’s national team players onto the pitch before a match against the United States at Qualcomm Stadium in her hometown. While she was assigned to walk out with the Brazilian players, her attention was firmly on the Americans, particularly her favorite player, Alex Morgan.
“I was walking with the Brazil squad and obviously I was upset about that,” Barcenas recalled. “But Alex was standing right across from me, so I asked her if after the game she could give me her jersey.”
After the final whistle, Barcenas approached Morgan again.
“I was like, ‘Alex, do you remember I asked for your jersey?’ And then she didn’t even really say a word,” she said. “She just started taking it off, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this cannot be happening!’”
But that encounter was about more than getting a jersey.
“I think that was the first time that I realized how much I really love soccer and that I want to be on the U.S. women’s national team one day,” she said. In 2022, she became the youngest player named to the initial U.S. under-17 team for the 2022 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship. However, she did not get a chance to play due to injury. A year later, she became Morgan’s teammate at the Wave.
San Diego signed Barcenas to a three-year contract when she was just 15 years and 138 days old, making her the youngest player in NWSL history to sign a professional contract at the time, breaking a record that Washington Spirit’s Chloe Ricketts had set earlier that same month. Although the signing surprised many, Barcenas had been getting acquainted with the club long before she officially became a professional. She recalled hearing about the Wave’s arrival in San Diego in 2021 and later getting opportunities to train with the team during its inaugural season.
“I had an idea that this (club) could be a part of my soccer journey, but I never thought it would be that soon,” she said.
She made her NWSL regular season debut as a substitute against the Orlando Pride in the 72nd minute, becoming the youngest player to appear in a regular season match at 15 years and 177 days old.
Later that season, she became the youngest player in league history to record an assist in August 2023. A year later, against the Portland Thorns, at 16 years old, she scored her first professional goal in the 74th minute with an assist from Maria Sanchez in a 2-0 victory.
Under head coach Jonas Eidevall, she appeared in 17 matches before a foot injury cut her 2025 season short, forcing her to watch from the sidelines as San Diego fell to Portland in that year’s quarterfinals. It was a frustrating end to a season in which she had hoped to establish herself as a regular contributor.
But if 2025 ended in disappointment, 2026 has been her breakthrough year.
On Aug. 21 against the Utah Royals, she recorded her first goal-and-assist performance. Entering Saturday’s match, she had scored six goals, including two game-winners. She also led the Wave with 24 shots on target despite playing just 1,088 league minutes this season. In September, the Wave rewarded their hometown star with a two-year contract extension through 2028.
“What we saw in 2025 was a player with excellent technical ability, and you can see she’s just as good with her right foot and with her left foot, and that gives her a lot of possibilities,” Eidevall said after Saturday’s match. “She obviously has a really good finishing ability too, but what I think she really has improved is her ability to read a game, her positional awareness, her movement off the ball, and I think people underestimate that with Mel just how game intelligent she is.”
The forward has already made 57 regular-season appearances for the Wave, scoring eight goals and adding three assists across her young career. In July, she became the second-youngest player in league history to reach 50 appearances, behind only Portland Thorns midfielder Olivia Moultrie.
“We don’t play players just because they’re young,” Eidevall said. “We play them because they’re good, and we have the benefit that they’re young, so they become even better for tomorrow.”
For all her professional achievements, Barcenas’ life away from soccer resembles that of any other 18-year-old. She enjoys shopping, spending time with her boyfriend and juggling social plans with teammates. She even admits to occasionally suffering from FOMO (fear of missing out) when she misses team gatherings.
One thing she doesn’t particularly enjoy? The beach. A somewhat unusual preference for someone who has spent her life in San Diego.
“The sun drains you, and it’s not great for your skin,” she said. “I’m more by the pool for an hour, maybe eat lunch by the pool. That’s more my vibe.”
The win against North Carolina helped the Wave secure a home playoff game in the 2026 postseason. Next week, they have a chance to secure the NWSL Shield for most points if results go their way and they can defeat the Boston Legacy.
But first, there is a burger with Barcenas’ name on it waiting.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
US Women's national team, San Diego Wave, NWSL
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