SEATTLE, WA (August 9, 2026) - Angel City Football Club (ACFC) continued to build on its recent momentum with a second consecutive draw on the road, tying Seattle Reign FC, 2-2, on Sunday night at Lumen Field.
Defender Gisele Thompson and forward Prisca Chilufya scored for Angel City, with midfielder Ary Borges and defender Evelyn Shores picking up the assists.
ACFC remained unbeaten this season (4-1-0) when leading at halftime. The club has lost just once in six matches since Interim Head Coach Leif Smerud took the reins.
“We had a good game in many respects, but we also knew it was a tough game,” Smerud said. “We had some challenges with some players out as well, so I think the players who came in did well.”
Chilufya equalized for ACFC within minutes of entering the match after second-half scores from forwards Mia Fishel and Sally Menti gave Seattle a 2-1 lead. Chilufya received a long lofted pass from Shores and one-timed a volley over Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey to tie the score at 2-2 in the 72nd minute.
“I was just focusing on how the game was going on the bench, and I thought that if I go in, I should bring some energy to the game because the girls were pushing so hard,” Chilufya said. “But they needed one more push, and that's what I was thinking about when I got in the game.”
It was the club-leading fourth assist of the season for Shores, who entered the match with Chilufya in the 69th minute.
“It was a really, really good goal – perfect ball from Evelyn, and a fantastic finish from Prisca,” Smerud said, adding, “That goal was very important for us.”
Thompson opened the scoring in the 32nd minute. She received a pass from midfielder Ary Borges and dribbled the ball into the right side of the Seattle penalty box. Thompson beat two defenders before tucking a low left-footed shot between Dickey and the near post.
“Just having the space that my teammates created for me was really helpful, and switching the ball faster gave me a lot more space to go [one-on-one],” Thompson said.
The goal was Thompson’s fourth of the season - the third-highest total for ACFC.
“We know that if Gisele gets the opportunity to cut in or to go around, we will get crosses [and] we will get shots,” Smerud said. “So today we saw what she can do, and it was a great goal by her.”
After ACFC limited the Reign’s opportunities in the first half, Seattle found the net twice early in the second.
Reign attacker Sally Menti scored in the 50th minute. She trapped a pass from forward Mia Fishel and equalized with a shot from the left side.
Fishel found the net herself just two minutes later, scoring with a high shot from the top of the penalty box. Her tally gave Seattle a 2-1 lead.
“We got a little bit too comfortable in the beginning of the half, and those goals brought us back to reality a little bit,” Thompson said. “And I think we just needed to bring our all, and that's what we did towards the end of the half.”
Angel City played a solid opening 45 minutes, controlling 51 percent of possession and earning four corner kicks while limiting Seattle to one.
Midfielder Ally Sentnor won a corner for ACFC in the 18th minute. On the ensuing set piece, Sentnor curled a ball to forward Riley Tiernan at the far post. Tiernan returned a lofted cross to defender Emily Sams, whose header forced Dickey to make a play.
Sentnor won another corner in the 42nd minute. Although Seattle cleared the initial ball in, Sams found midfielder Carina Lageyre for a shot from the top of the eighteen-yard box that just missed the mark.
The Reign’s lone corner of the half came in stoppage time. The ball eventually found Fishel in a position to score, but the ACFC defense extinguished the opportunity.
“Coming here, we know that Seattle has started really well [and gotten] a lot of goals in the start of the game,” Smerud said. “And for us, I think we controlled it really well in the start of the first half.”
Tiernan started for the first time since May 31 and played 80 minutes. In the 61st minute, she powered a high shot that Dickey had to bat over the crossbar for an ACFC corner.
Chilufya came on as a second-half substitute in her first appearance since returning from international duty with Zambia at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. Shores also entered the match in the second half after missing two contests due to injury.
Angel City will return to BMO Stadium to face the Washington Spirit at 6 p.m. PT on Sunday, Aug. 16. The club will celebrate Disney Princess Theme Night, and the match will be televised on ESPN.
