Melanie Barcenas, 15, Makes Pro Debut for NWSL’s San Diego Wave

Fifteen-year-old Melanie Barcenas became the youngest player in NWSL history when she made her professional debut with the San Diego Wave on Saturday.

Barcenas signed a three-year deal with the team on March 21, days before the 2023 season started.

The home crowd at Snapdragon Stadium went absolutely wild as Barcenas waited to sub into the game for Belle Briede. The young forward came into the game in the 72nd minute while the Wave were trailing 3–1 to the Orlando Pride. San Diego was unable to rally and wound up lose to Orlando by the same score.

Despite the loss, the Wave sits in third place amid the 12-team NWSL standings with nine points.

Wave coach Casey Stoney told The Athletic that she’d wanted to play Barcenas prior to Saturday’s game, but the 15-year-old had been dealing with an illness.

“It’s a big stage to go on in, and it’s not ideal that she goes in when we’re losing,” Stoney said. “I would have liked her to have made her debut when we were winning. But I think that’s shown that I think she can get us back into the game. So that shows the value that we put in her.”

Barcenas was able to sign with the Wave due to an NWSL rule approved in November that allows each team to have two under-18 players as long as a parent or guardian approves the signing, along with various other rules outlined by the league.