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This Wednesday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m., Angel City kicks off their first public match of 2023 at BMO Stadium against Club América Femenil. It will be an opportunity for the team to put together everything they’ve been working on during the first five weeks of preseason.
Getting to Know You: Club América Edition
Basics
Club América Femenil is one of 18 teams in the Liga MX Femenil, all of which are affiliated with a men’s Liga MX side. Just like their men’s counterpart, each season is split into two tournaments, the Apertura (from July to December) and Clausura (from January to May).
In a league with much less competitive parity than the NWSL, América is one of the major players. The winners of the 2018 Apertura season, they are one of just four teams to have won a championship since the league’s inception in 2017. They have also qualified for the liguilla (playoffs) every season since the league’s inception.
The Mexico City-based team plays most of its home matches at the legendary Estadio Azteca, one of the most storied venues in world football. With a capacity of more than 80,000, the Azteca has hosted two men’s World Cup finals, as well as the second-ever women’s World Cup, in 1971. The final match of that tournament attracted more than 100,000 fans (the capacity of the stadium was larger at the time).
For their part, América are the current Liga MX attendance record holders, after 52,654 people attended the first leg of the 2022 Apertura final last November against Tigres.
Like the men’s club, América Femenil has a fierce rivalry with Guadalajara, known as the Clásico Nacional or Superclásico.
Current Season
América is currently midway through the 2023 Clausura tournament, where they sit in fourth place with a 5–0–2 (W–L–D) record. On Monday, March 6, they played Pachuca on the road, winning 3–2.
As noted above, América has always been one of the dominant teams in the league, and this season has been no different; three of the team’s five wins have been by five or more goals, with their highest-scoring result being a 7–0 win over Puebla in January.
Wednesday’s match will be América’s second friendly against an NWSL club in just over a week, as they faced OL Reign on February 27. That match ended 3–1 in the Reign’s favor, following a goal by Tziarra King, an América own goal by Kim Rodríguez, and McKenzie Weinert for Seattle, and one by Kiana Palacios for the Liga MX side.
Roster notes
Palacios notching the only goal for her team against OL Reign came as no surprise, as the Mexican international has been scoring at a ridiculous rate since joining the club in 2021. She has 27 goals in 50 games all-time for América, including nine goals in just six games in the current Clausura tournament.
Palacios is one of 13 players on the club’s roster to have been capped for the Mexican national team, the most of any team in Liga MX Femenil. She is also one of five América players with Southern California ties, having grown up in Orange and attended UC Irvine. The others are Scarlett Camberos (LA native, UC Irvine alum), Karina Rodríguez (Torrance native, UCLA alum), Jocelyn Orejel (Fountain Valley native), and Itzel González (UC San Diego alum).
Another player to watch is Katty Martínez, a Monterrey native who played for Tigres from 2017 to 2021, when she made the switch to América. The 24-year-old Martínez is one of the biggest names in the Mexican women’s game right now, with eight goals in 17 appearances for the national team. She won the Golden Boot in the 2020 Apertura, with 18 goals in 17 games.
A New Approach to Preseason
Unlike last season, when the Challenge Cup was contested before the NWSL regular season, this year Angel City set their own schedule for preseason. To date, the team has played a few scrimmages with local college teams, and one in Florida against the Inter Miami academy. The América friendly will be their first test against another professional team.
“I think that it will be really good to test ourselves against a professional team that are already in season,” said Head Coach Freya Coombe on a media call last week. “In terms of their being more played in than we are and more physically prepared—just to test ourselves against that.”
That challenge will give the team a chance to assess the direction they’ve been going in so far in preseason. “I want to see what we've been able to put in place so far and what sticks with the players,” said Coombe, “and maybe what we need to revisit as part of our identity—those areas that have stuck and how we can continue to develop further.”
With five new players on the team—keeper Angelina Anderson, forward Alyssa Thompson, forward/midfielder Katie Johnson, midfielder Mackenzie Pluck, and defender Merritt Mathias—the match will be a test of cohesion both among returning players and new ones. Defender Ali Riley said that’s an area the team is progressing well in.
“I'm seeing a cohesion that I don't think we had time for last year,” she told media last week. “It's very different going into season two with such a clear vision in place from our staff… Coming into Florida after being with the national team, it was just amazing to see the level [of] competitiveness and how far the team has progressed.”
Finally, the team is looking forward to their reunion with supporters after a long offseason. “To be honest, I'm mostly looking forward to being back amongst the fans again,” said Coombe. “It's been way too long.”
Fans can purchase tickets to Wednesday's match here.
