Today, Angel City Football Club (ACFC) opened training and released their preseason roster in preparation for their inaugural season in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). The 25 players will train under Head Coach Freya Coombe, Assistant Coach Robert Udberg, and Goalkeeper Coach Daniel Ball.
ACFC’s opening day roster features the following players (in alphabetical order by last name):
Key: Non-Roster Invitee (NRI), International Player (INTL), Not Yet Reported (NYR)
Under the direction of Sporting Director Eniola Aluko, ACFC’s first signing took place on August 23, 2021, when Los Angeles native and USWNT star Christen Press signed with the club.
Following the signing of Press, ACFC bolstered their roster with international signings such as Gilles, a Canadian Gold Medalist from the 2020 Olympic Games. ACFC also signed Ferrer Van Ginkel (Tigres UANL Femenil), Endo (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza), and British-born Taylor via the 2022 NWSL Draft. In addition to the above international slots, ACFC also signed American-born players Swaby from AS Roma and Cousins and Vignola from Thróttur Reykjavík.
ACFC obtained a large portion of the preseason roster via trades with other NWSL clubs. Charley and Lussi were traded from Portland, Isenhour and Riley from Orlando, Gorden (Chicago), Haračić (NJ/NY), McCaskill (Louisville), Roccaro (North Carolina), and Vignola (Washington).
ACFC also crafted their roster through the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft with San Diego Wave Fútbol Club and the 2022 NWSL Draft. In the first round of the Expansion Draft, ACFC selected Weatherholt from the OL Reign. Spencer joined ACFC as their third-round pick from the Houston Dash. ACFC also acquired Nielsen, a 2021 NWSL Champion with the Washington Spirit as the fourth-round pick.
After being drafted in the 2022 NWSL Draft, Breslin, Nabet, and Taylor joined ACFC directly from their college teams at Illinois, Duke, and Hofstra. Cassalia (Army), McClure (Kansas), and Perez (Hartford) join ACFC as trialists and are not under contract.
ACFC will train at Pepperdine University in Malibu before moving into their to-be-announced training facility. The team’s preseason roster will compete in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup, beginning March 19, before their inaugural home opener at Banc of California Stadium in mid-Spring.
In addition to announcing the preseason roster, ACFC is pleased to welcome the below members of the multidisciplinary staff (in alphabetical order by last name):
Frank Barone, Head of Football Conditioning
Alex Bitaine, Director of Player Care
Symiah Campbell, Physical Therapist
Brock Chartier, Head Equipment Manager
Randi Lininger, Head Athletic Trainer
Kelly Roderick, Head of Sport Science
Joscelyn Shumate Bourne, Physical Therapist
The announcement of the NWSL regular season schedule is forthcoming.
