This Sunday, July 2, at 2:30 p.m. PST, Angel City is on the road against NJ/NY Gotham FC for a rematch of this season's home opener. The match will be broadcast locally on Bally SoCal and will stream in the US on Paramount+ and internationally at NWSLSoccer.com. An English-language radio broadcast swill be available on iHeart.
For more information on broadcasts, click here.
This will be Angel City's fourth meeting all-time with Gotham. Last year the two teams split the results, with ACFC losing 0–1 at home and winning 3–1 on the road; in their first meeting this year, Gotham beat their hosts 2–1 following goals by forwards Lynn Williams and Midge Purce for Gotham, and one by forward Alyssa Thompson for Angel City.
Gotham are currently in fifth place in the league with a 6–4–3 (W–L–D) record. Their most recent result was a 2–1 win over Chicago at home in Harrison, NJ that saw goals by Williams and midfielder Allie Long.
Angel City are in ninth place with a 3–6–4 record. Their last league game was a 0–0 draw at home against Houston. The team won a midweek Challenge Cup game 2–1 against San Diego Wave FC on the strength of first-half goals by midfielders Madison Hammond and Clarisse Le Bihan.
Like many teams in the league, Gotham has a handful of key players headed to the World Cup, three of them—Williams, midfielder Kristie Mewis, and defender Kelley O'Hara—having already departed for US Women's National Team camp.
Losing Williams, the team's leading scorer, is a blow, as is losing one of the team's top playmakers in Mewis. The 32-year-old midfielder, who is headed to her first World Cup, has been a crucial piece for Gotham, leading the team in chances created, with 27, and passes into the final third, with 95.
However, just as Williams and Mewis are leaving, Gotham has gotten another attacking threat back, as forward Midge Purce returned from a ten-week-long injury last weekend against Chicago. She's played just 226 minutes, but based on her performance in that time, she looks prepared to fill some of the gaps left by both Williams and Mewis.
Purce has two goals and two assists on the season; she also has about two shots on goal per 90 minutes played and about 3.6 chances created per 90—compared with Williams's 2.3 shots on goal per 90 and Mewis's 2.3 chances created per 90. While it's true that Purce's data set is limited, those numbers nevertheless point to her being ready to help make up for Williams and Mewis's absence.
Angel City are undefeated in the last three games across all competitions, with a win and a draw in their regular-season contests and a win in the Challenge Cup. While that Challenge Cup win doesn't affect the NWSL standings, it's still important as the team builds momentum coming off a string of disappointing results.
'Coming off the San Diego win, in San Diego, is definitely a big momentum boost for us,' midfielder Lily Nabet told media this week. 'I credit a lot of that to Becki [Tweed] and how hard she's worked, bringing the team together. The team as a whole is growing and we feel more connected than ever. Then, getting a point against Houston at home was big for us—plus the win last night was awesome.”
The team improved markedly between last weekend and their midweek Challenge Cup game when it comes to finishing. Against Houston, ACFC had 12 total shots, including four on goal, and recorded 1.2 expected goals (xG), but failed to score. Against San Diego, they converted two goals out of 15 shots on target.
'We've been looking at it and knew it was an area of the game that we needed to improve with creating and finishing more chances,' said Tweed. 'The finishing piece is still a work in progress. For us, we're still looking to build on that, while creating an identity in the final third. Who do we want to be? I said last night that we want to be unpredictable, but also at the same time, we need to be predictable to our teammates so that we can connect and be smart in the final third, knowing what each other are doing.
“What runs are we making, what spaces are we looking to exploit? That's something we've worked really hard on the last couple of weeks and you can see that pay off now.”