It would be safe to say 2026 has exceeded all of Ashley Sanchez' s goals ... pun intended.
Just months after announcing her engagement to fellow professional soccer player Tommy Williamson, the North Carolina Courage striker finds herself at the end of a historic season, tying the National Women's Soccer League scoring record (set by Temwa Chawinga in 2024) and winning the Golden Boot .
"It's been amazing," Sanchez, 27, told PEOPLE before her final game of the season against the Denver Summit. "It's definitely been a really crazy experience. I don't think it will hit me until the season's over and I've really reflected on everything, but it's been really incredible. I'm really proud of how I've been able to have the year that I have."
Sanchez's engagement isn't the only way her fiancé contributed to her incredible 2026: He also suggested one day while they trained together that she switch positions on the field.
The career midfielder decided to be uncharacteristically receptive to his suggestion. "Sometimes I can be a little demanding when we train and it's not the best for the relationship," the Pasadena, Calif., native says with a laugh. "But I was good this off-season, and I was open to suggestions."
Soon, Sanchez realized Williamson's off-the-cuff idea opened up a new world for her on the pitch: more one-versus-one situations, and more chances to shoot. In preseason training camps, Courage head coach Mak Lind took notice of his midfielder's new pep and solidified her to left wing.
The change has paid off: This season, Sanchez's 20 goals in 30 games earned her the award given to the highest goal-scorer in the league each season.
"I'm not really sure why my fiancé thought of that this summer, but I mean, honestly, it worked out," Sanchez says. "He really seems like a genius right now."
But the truth is, Sanchez has always been a goal scorer.
Ashley Sanchez Credit: Paul Rutherford/NWSL via Getty
Growing up in Los Angeles County, she first fell in love with soccer when her parents, Ralph and Julie, signed her up for a local league at 3 years old.
"I was pretty good already and it's always easier to enjoy something when you feel like you're better than people," Sanchez jokes, telling stories about other kids being more interested in "picking flowers" while she was laser-focused on the net. "I would just dribble around them and score. I really loved playing, it felt natural."
By the time Sanchez was in eighth grade, she had already secured a scholarship to play soccer at UCLA. In college, Sanchez broke records for assists as a midfielder with scoring on the back burner, and began to come to the realization soccer could be her post-college career as well.
"It's crazy because growing up, I didn't even really know that there was a pathway to play professional soccer for women," she says. "I just really enjoyed playing, and I didn't think too far into the future about it."
Sanchez, who now also plays on the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team , adds: "[My soccer career] was definitely for just how much I enjoyed playing, and I still feel that way."
After three seasons at UCLA, Sanchez was drafted by the Washington Spirit in 2020 and made her professional debut at 21. She helped lead the Spirit to its first and only NWSL Championship in 2021 before being traded to North Carolina after the next season. But no year has compared to Sanchez's 2026 season, emerging as one of the sport's premier goal scorers.
Tommy Williamson and Ashley Sanchez Credit: Ashley Sanchez/Instagram
Off the field, Sanchez jokes that she's "so lazy," using her time away from the pitch to "just chill" and take her mind off the sport.
She and Williamson, whom she met on a blind double date while they both played soccer for their respective pro teams in North Carolina, enjoying walking their two dogs together (Benny, a 2-year-old yellow lab, and Nala, a 4-year-old French bulldog). "They're just really some funny characters," she says.
She's also tried crocheting ("way too difficult for me") while working on taming her "shopping addiction" with more at-home hobbies. But ultimately, it all comes back to the pitch for her.
Ashley Sanchez Credit: Jim Sabo/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty
"You kind of get into that flow state and it kind of feels like things are just working out for you, which is always nice," Sanchez says about her record-setting performance this season. "I think I've just been putting myself in the best possible situations, and so far it's been working."
Though the Courage won their Sunday game against the Summit, they were knocked out of playoff contention by Seattle's victory over Orlando. The NSWL playoffs begin Nov. 6.
Read the original article on People
