Angel City fell 3–2 on the road tonight against reigning NWSL champions Orlando Pride. Forward Riley Tiernan and midfielder Katie Zelem scored for ACFC, with Marta, Barbra Banda, and an Angel City own goal rounding out the scoring.
Angel City opened the scoring in the ninth minute when midfielder Kennedy Fuller took the ball up the left wing and sent a pass to forward Riley Tiernan. Tiernan continued up the wing, cut inside past a defender, and dribbled into the box, where she took an angled shot that sailed past goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse at the near post and into the net.
The game was a back-and-forth affair as it went on, with the two teams struggling for control in the midfield and neither getting very close to goal; Angel City had their next look in the 25th minute, when a corner kick by forward Claire Emslie landed in the center of the box, where defender MA Vignola headed it on target—but Moorhouse swiped the ball away to keep the score at 1–0.
The visitors had another near miss in the 31st minute when Tiernan dribbled into the 18 and sent a lateral ball toward the center of the box for Fuller. The midfielder couldn’t get a clean shot on the ball, which continued to midfielder Katie Zelem as she made a run, but her shot went wide for a goal kick.
The 43rd minute saw another ACFC attempt when forward Alyssa Thompson sent a short forward pass to Fuller at the edge of the box, who quickly turned and shot. Moorhouse jumped to get her hand on the ball and tip it over the bar for a corner.
On the resulting corner kick by Emslie—in the 44th minute—Angel City doubled the lead. The Scotland international served the ball centrally to the six-yard line, where a scrum of players leapt to try to control it. The ball pinged around the box for a moment, finally landing at the feet of Zelem, who hit a left-footed rocket into the back of the net to bring the score to 2–0.
Orlando had another look shortly after the break. Midfielder Ally Lemos sent a cross to the far side of the six-yard box, where midfielder Marta was lurking. The Brazilian star was in the right place, but couldn’t line up a shot, and the ball fell to the ground, where goalkeeper Angelina Anderson claimed it.
In the 69th minute Thompson came close to finding a third goal for ACFC, as she cut inside past a wide defender, dribbled across Orlando’s back line, and turned to fire off a left-footed strike that Moorhouse dove and deflected out for a corner.
The hosts pulled one back in the 72nd minute when defender Oihane sent a cross into the 18 from the right. Marta was again in the right place and redirected it into the goal to narrow Angel City’s lead to one goal.
Orlando kept their foot on the gas and equalized in the 76th minute. Oihane over-hit a cross all the way past the 18, with the ball nearly rolling out over the sideline—but defender Carson Pickett kept the play alive and sent her own cross into the box, where forward Barbra Banda was making a run and headed home the equalizer.
The Pride earned two chances in quick succession in the 80th minute, first with a close-range shot by Oihane that Anderson blocked, then an attempt by forward Ally Watt following a service from Marta, again stopped by the Angel City keeper.
Orlando notched the go-ahead goal in the 93rd minute when Pickett served a diagonal ball into the box. Watt was making a run across the six, with Vignola marking her, and the ball bounced off the chest of the ACFC defender and into the back of the net.
Angel City is on the road again next Friday, May 2, against the Washington Spirit. That game will again be at 5:00 p.m. Pacific.
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