Angel City Football Club (ACFC) today announced the removal of veteran defender Ali Riley from the National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) season-ending injury list (SEI). Riley, who is a team captain and also one of eight remaining players from the 2022 inaugural roster, was moved to SEI due to a chronic and persistent leg injury midway through the 2024 NWSL Regular Season.
“Ali’s drive to get back on the field with her teammates has been an example to us all, she is world class. This has been an incredibly difficult process both mentally and physically and she is a testament to perseverance” said ACFC VP of Medical and Performance Sarah Smith. “Her condition was difficult to navigate, which makes the hard work she put in to get to this point even more impressive. We are thrilled she is able to come off of SEI.”
“This could easily have been a career-ending injury, and nobody could tell me for sure that it wasn’t, so I am overwhelmed with joy at reaching this milestone,” said Riley. “While I am really proud of myself for not giving up, I am even more grateful for all of the medical professionals who never gave up on me and my teammates for supporting me when I didn’t know if I would ever kick a ball again. I was out for a long time, so I’m going to have to work really hard to wear the jersey again, but I’m going to give it everything I’ve got and with these players by my side I have to believe that anything is possible.”
The Los Angeles-native has served as ACFC’s team captain since the 2022 inaugural season and has appeared in a total of 54 matches in all competitions for the club. During her tenure, she has scored three goals and three assists, including her first career NWSL regular season goal against SoCal rival San Diego Wave FC on July 9, 2022, helping the club to a 2-1 home victory.
A legend of the New Zealand Women’s National Team with 163 career caps, competing in the 2023 Women’s World Cup and helping the club qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. She also starred for the New Zealand National Team during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
