Ashley Sanchez has 19 NWSL goals after disallowed strike that would have tied single-season record

Ashley Sanchez saw a goal ruled out by VAR against Gotham at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday that would have been her 20th of the season and tied the NWSL single-season scoring mark. The North Carolina Courage winger has 19 goals this year and has already set at least two club and national marks in the campaign.

Sanchez, 27, is in her seventh professional season and moved to the left wing after four years with the Washington Spirit; she was traded to North Carolina five months after being on the USWNT’s 2023 World Cup roster, where she played zero minutes. This season she has broken the most NWSL goals scored in one season by an American and the most goals by a Courage player in a single campaign. Mak Lind, the Courage’s first-year head coach, predicted in preseason that Sanchez would reach 20 goals, a target she initially dismissed; she had never previously scored more than five in a season.

The score that was ruled out saw Sanchez control a lofted cross at the left post and finish to the inside of the far post, prompting celebrations and an updated handmade “Sanchez Goal-O-Meter” in the WakeMed stands before the center referee was called to the VAR monitor. The goal was disallowed because Sanchez’s teammate Gianna Paul was a touch offside when the play began. “I was just happy to tie [the game] up,” Sanchez told the Guardian of the moment the ball went in the net. “I honestly wasn’t really thinking about what that would mean until after, and I was like, ‘Oh, dang, I could have done it.’ It was a good goal. I was really upset that we didn’t tie the game up right then and there.”

Sanchez described the period after the 2023 World Cup and the unexpected transfer as difficult but formative. “I feel like I’m past that point. But when I look back at this season I’m like, ‘I guess I had to go through some tough times to get here.’ I always felt like there was a reason that I had to go through them – maybe that was character-building, or not taking things for granted,” she said. “When I look back now, I’m really happy those things happened because I have perspective now. But definitely at the time, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.’”

Sanchez also described leaning on faith and patience during the difficult spell. “I’ve always kind of felt like there was something bigger that was going to happen. I just felt like I needed to stay patient and have trust that whatever God was doing in my life was for a reason,” she said. “I tried to lean on to that because you can get really caught up in, ‘Oh my gosh, these things keep happening to me, and it’s really hard.’ And it was really hard. But I was very patient and I controlled what I could, and that was my effort.”

The positional switch to left wing and coaching input have been central to her scoring run: Sanchez credited coaches with improving her timing, runs in behind defenders and other details, and said the role suits her skill set. “As soon as I’m dribbling, it’s just pretty natural for me. I don’t really know what I’m thinking in the moment, but as soon as I see them bite is when I’m like, ‘Now I can go,’” she said. “I basically just wait for them to make a move, and then I decide which way I’m going to go, whether that’s to the left or the right. Sometimes they give me the right [side] unexpectedly: ‘Guess I’m gonna take a shot now.’”

Mak Lind, the Lebanese-Swedish coach in his first NWSL season and the seventh head coach Sanchez has played under in seven seasons, has received praise from the player for his approach after an abrupt head-coaching change at the club in the middle of 2025. Sanchez recalled Lind’s preseason prediction and their conversation: “I was laughing,” Sanchez said. “He was like, ‘I don’t know why you’re laughing. I’m being serious.’” On Lind’s impact she added, “He’s just a really good person,” Sanchez said. “And I think when we all talk about it – he’s just so nice – we’re just like, ‘We need to protect him.’” “It’s the first time that I’ve been like, ‘Wow, I do want to win for him.’ … He puts a lot of trust and confidence in me and I want to reward how he treats his players,” Sanchez said. “He’s definitely the kindest coach I’ve ever had in my life.”

Sanchez said she is focused on helping the seventh-place Courage reach the playoffs but that the season would already feel like a success to her. “I think that the season I’ve had is already so great. And I just try to tell myself if it ended right now, I would still be happy,” she said. “And all the other stuff is kind of just extra at this point.” On Tuesday afternoon she said she had not yet heard from USWNT coach Emma Hayes about the upcoming friendlies against Spain next month. “The only thing I can do is just make it as hard as I possibly can for [Hayes] to make her decisions, and put myself in the best position to get called in or play in these games,” Sanchez said. “But ultimately it’s up to her and I have to be comfortable with it maybe not being good enough.”

Sanchez acknowledged that some observers had written her off and said a recall would be evidence of recovery from a difficult period, while also stressing her pride in the current season. “For me to be able to get called back in – I think a lot of people, and maybe even myself, kind of counted me out. I think it would just be a testament to going through a little bit of a tough time and still being able to find your way back,” she added. “But I also think this season has been so incredible that even if I didn’t, I would still be so proud of what I’ve been able to do. It would feel like a little bit of an extra cherry on top. Obviously I would like to, but we’ll see.”

Emma Hayes’s squad selection for the Spain friendlies next month will determine whether Sanchez receives a call-up; until then Sanchez is continuing with the Courage, aiming to sustain her form and press her case for inclusion.