Melanie Barcenas Is Making Waves

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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Sam Mewis (0:51)

You're listening to the MIB Media Network and this is The Women's Game.

Melanie Barcenas (0:55)

We were taking a Polaroid picture and Charlie was like, we said, what should I do? And she was like, puts her little tea hand and it was like, oh my gosh. Yeah, it was so cute. And like her mom's the one obviously who created the tea celly. So it was just such a cute, like full circle moment.

Sam Mewis (1:17)

Hi everyone. And welcome back to Friendly's brought to you by The Women's Game. Today on the podcast, we have San Diego Wave attacker, Mel Barcenas.

SPEAKER_4 (1:25)

Now on the attack, and with an opportunity, get the shot, off and in! That skims in off the post. Surprises Sheridan and Melanie Barcenas.

SPEAKER_1 (1:35)

What a goal.

Melanie Barcenas (1:37)

And look at the spin on that, the way it just kind of moved midair.

Sam Mewis (1:41)

That was Mel scoring her seventh goal of the year, becoming the first teenager in league history to score seven or more goals in a single regular season. Absolutely incredible. Here is my interview with Mel Barcenas.

Welcome, everybody back to Friendlies. Today, I am so excited to be joined by a young player who plays with so much passion, so much skill. You might forget she's a teenager if she didn't just set a record for most NWC goals scored by a teenager. Mel Barcenas, welcome to the show. Thanks for being here.

Melanie Barcenas (2:26)

Thank you. I'm so excited, and thank you for letting me come on the show.

Sam Mewis (2:30)

Oh my God, we're so honored to have you. You are an absolute superstar. I know that you are getting ready to head into playoffs with your club team, the San Diego Wave. Your team has been playing so well this season. You yourself are having kind of a breakout year. You've scored seven goals. You've announced a big contract extension.

And in my opinion, you hit maybe the best celly of the season, paying homage to Alex Morgan's iconic T-Sip on the 4th of July. Tell us about that. Was it planned?

Melanie Barcenas (2:55)

It was in the plans, right, for a few weeks. And but I did want it to be at a home game. And I wanted her to be there. And like I always say hi to Alex, like from her suite before the game. Like I always make eye contact with her. Just a nice thing to see someone that you were teammates with, like continue to support. And obviously, like she's an investor in the club. So I'm super grateful to just kind of have that connection with her.

So I knew she was there that game. And obviously, it was also 4th of July, which kind of adds to it, right? And I wasn't expecting, I guess, to score, but I knew anytime I did score a home game, like I wanted to do it at home. And I don't know, that was like the perfect chance to. And so I was really happy that she got to see it in person.

Sam Mewis (3:37)

Yeah, that is so cool. Did you get to talk to her about it?

Melanie Barcenas (3:40)

Yeah, she actually came down to the field after the game and we took like a little tea picture.

It was so cute and a couple of weeks later, Alex and Charlie and their family was on the field after the game. And I was like, oh, like we're taking a Polaroid picture. And Charlie was like, we like we said, what should I do? And she was like, put her little tea hand and it was like, oh my gosh. Yeah, it was so cute. And like her mom's the one obviously who created the tea celly. So it's just such a cute, like full circle moment.