Angel City earned a 2–1 win tonight against NorCal rivals Bay FC, following goals by forward Riley Tiernan and midfielder Maiara Niehues. Forward Rachel Hill notched the single goal for Bay.
After a few early attempts, Angel City opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Tiernan received a pass from defender M.A. Vignola and sprinted up the left wing. Tiernan cut inside into the box, juked left to off-balance several defenders, and sent an angled left-footed shot emphatically to the far side of the goal to bring the score to 1–0.
Goalkeeper Hannah Seabert made a clutch stop in the 20th minute after Bay forward Racheal Kundananji played a through ball into the box for forward Rachel Hill. Hill was one-on-one with Seabert as she dribbled toward goal, but Seabert made a well-timed dive to swat the ball away from Hill’s feet and keep the game scoreless.
The two teams traded several attempts over the next ten minutes, with Bay defender Joelle Anderson taking a few cracks from distance; Angel City defender Gisele Thompson had a look in the 30th minute that went just wide of the post.
Bay came close to finding the back of the net in the 31st minute. Midfielder Taylor Huff sent a lateral pass to midfielder Jamie Shepherd inside the box, who sent it onward to defender Alyssa Malonson as she made a run on goal. Defender Sarah Gorden blocked Malonson’s shot off the goal line; the ball ricocheted to the feet of Shepherd, who made her own attempt, this time saved by Seabert.
In the 37th minute, the visitors equalized. Midfielder Tess Boade sent a long slashing through ball to Hill as she made a run into the box. Hill again got one on one against Seabert and took a crack, which the goalkeeper blocked— but the ball fell back to Hill, who didn’t miss on her second attempt.
In the 39th minute, forward Sveindís Jónsdóttir had a chance, pressuring goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz into a giveaway following a back pass. Jónsdóttir cut past the keeper to take a shot, which went just wide.
Jónsdóttir had another near miss in first-half stoppage time, receiving a sideways pass from Thompson in the box and taking a sharply angled shot—but her attempt was a few inches high and the two teams went into the break tied 1–1.
The first quality chance of the second half came in the 66th minute. Jónsdóttir sent a sideways ball along the 18-yard line, with Tiernan dummying the pass for Vignola. The defender fired off a hard shot, which went just over the bar.
Jónsdóttir came close yet again in the 70th minute, running onto a well-placed through ball by Vignola and beating her mark around the outside to take a close-range, angled shot, hitting the outside netting.
The hosts notched the winner in the 77th minute. Defender Miyabi Moriya placed a corner kick near the six-yard line, where midfielder Maiara Niehues jumped to make contact with her head. Her shot looped over Silkowitz and into the back of the net to bring the score to 2–1.
Angel City plays next Sunday, September 7 on the road against NJ/NY Gotham FC at 2:00 p.m. Pacific. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
