This Friday, October 20, at 7:00 p.m. Pacific, Angel City travels to Seattle to face the fourth-seed OL Reign in the quarterfinals of the 2023 NWSL Playoffs. The match will be ACFC's first-ever postseason game, coming on the heels of the team's emphatic 5–1 win over the Portland Thorns on Decision Day.
The game will be broadcast in the US on Paramount+ and stream internationally at NWSLSoccer.com. An English-language radio broadcast will be available on iHeart, and a Spanish-language broadcast will air on KWKW 1330.
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Angel City faced OL Reign four times in 2023 across both the regular season and the Challenge Cup. In the regular season, the two teams split the results, with Seattle beating LA 4–1 in May and recording their first-ever loss to ACFC in August, falling 2–1 at BMO.
Reign finished their season in fourth place with a 9–8–5 record (W–L–D), following a 3–0 win on the road in Chicago over the weekend. Forward Megan Rapinoe notched a brace in that game, with midfielder Jess Fishlock closing out the scoring.
ACFC finished in fifth place with an 8–7–7 record, narrowly edging out Orlando on goal differential and Gotham on total goals thanks to their 5–1 win on Sunday; given the other results from the weekend, LA would not have made the playoffs if they had won by less than four goals.
The scoreline in that match came courtesy of five different goalscorers: defender MA Vignola, forward Scarlett Camberos, midfielder Savannah McCaskill, forward Sydney Leroux, and forward Jun Endo. Thorns' forward Hina Sugita scored a consolation goal for her team. Sunday's match represented both the most goals Angel City had ever scored in a single game and the widest margin they had ever won by.
The Reign have historically been a strong team, with six previous playoff appearances to their name, including two trips to the NWSL Championship, in 2014 and 2015. They contested both against then-FC Kansas City, and lost by one goal each time. In 2022, as the Shield winners, they got a bye in the first round and lost 2–0 in the semifinal to the Kansas City Current.
Head Coach Laura Harvey, who has had two separate tenures with the Reign—one from 2013–2017 and the second from midway through 2021 until the present—has built a formidable roster with world-class players on all three lines. USWNT legend Megan Rapinoe, currently in her final season as a professional, has been the team's star since their inception, and she's still making an impact: the Redding native had four goals and five assists in just 15 games this season.
Across the front line, however, forwards Veronica Latsko, Jordyn Huitema, and Bethany Balcer have also been workhorses, with four, five, and six goals, respectively. Much of the team's attacking strength comes from service in from the wings, with players like Rapinoe and right back Sofia Huerta—both in the top 10 for crosses attempted this season—whipping crosses into the box for Huitema and Balcer.
Defensively, Emily Sonnett—typically a center back or outside back who has transitioned to defensive midfield this season—and Canada international Quinn provide stability in the central midfield, in front of two experienced central defenders in Alana Cook and Lauren Barnes. Welsh international Jess Fishlock, who, like Cook and Rapinoe, is a Reign original, contributes in the midfield on both sides of the ball.
Angel City's performance against Portland was the team's strongest offensive showing ever, and it highlighted the range of attacking threats on the roster.
Not only was each goal scored by a different player, but all four of the goals for which an assist was recorded (Leroux's bicycle kick was unassisted) were assisted by a different player; Leroux, Vignola, forward Claire Emslie, and forward Alyssa Thompson all contributed assists.
One thing recent games have highlighted has been the team's attacking depth off the bench. Against Houston two weeks ago, Thompson entered the game in the 65th minute and notched her team's first goal three minutes later with her first touches on the ball. Thompson also had a second assist on the game winner, which another substitute—forward Katie Johnson—assisted, playing a well-weighted lateral ball to the center of the penalty box for McCaskill.
Thompson didn't get on the score sheet against Portland, but she had the assist on Endo's goal after subbing in for Emslie in the 64th minute.
The ACFC attack has also found success with a variety of types of goals. Transitional attacks, well-timed runs from deep, various types of crosses, and individual wizardry have all been showcased in recent matches. The team has had a strong group of attackers all season long, but in their last regular-season game, that group meshed in a new way that points to the team peaking at the right time.