Angel City FC Moves Into Fourth Place With 1-0 Win Over Washington Spirit

Washington, D.C. (Sept. 26, 2026) - Angel City Football Club (ACFC) extended their unbeaten run to six matches with a 1-0 victory over the Washington Spirit at Audi Field, as Maiara Niehues delivered a club-record ninth goal in the 88th minute to secure three points and move Angel City into fourth place in the NWSL standings.

After a scoreless 87 minutes in heavy rain, Niehues broke through with a strike from outside the box, finding the top-right corner after receiving a pass from Carina Lageyre.

The goal moved Niehues into sole possession of the club’s single-season scoring record with nine goals.

“Not even in my best dreams did I actually imagine that I was going to have this mark,” Niehues said. “I’m very happy, especially to help in a very, very important game.”

The breakthrough came after a tightly contested first half in which neither side was able to finish chances. Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson made an impact, including stops on attempts from Sofia Catore, Monique Ngock, and Trinity Rodman.

ACFC captain Sarah Gorden helped anchor the defense, deflecting an attempt by Rodman from inside the box in the 37th minute, while Evelyn Shores applied pressure throughout to disrupt Washington’s attack.

Angel City continued to create opportunities as Prisca Chilufya forced a diving save from Washington goalkeeper Sandy MacIver in the 57th minute.

“We didn’t play well enough to the conditions, so that was one of the messages at halftime that we had,” said Interim Head Coach Leif Smerud. “We had to adapt to players who are not that used to those conditions and we did that well.

“It was a tight, tough game, but my feeling in the second half was that if someone was winning it, it was us.”

Taylor Suarez entered in the 71st minute for Chilufya, adding another attacking option, while Niehues came on for Ally Sentnor in the 86th minute. Two minutes later, Niehues provided the difference to secure the match.

“[Maiara’s] impact when she came in was fantastic,” Smerud said. “We didn’t create many chances, but we had some opportunities, and then you need the quality. Maiara came in and delivered.”

The 1-0 victory pushed the Angel City’s unbeaten streak to six games, while also moving the team into the top four of the NWSL standings.

Angel City will play Gotham FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 10:00 a.m. PT. The match will be televised on ABC.