Angel City are at home Saturday, July 30, at 7:30 p.m. against the Seattle-based OL Reign. The match will stream live on Paramount+, and English-language radio broadcast will air on iHeart.
ACFC last played on July 9, a 2–1 home win against first-place San Diego Wave FC (the scheduled match the following weekend, away at North Carolina Courage, was moved to September 14 due to COVID protocol). Defender Ali Riley scored the opening goal in that game in the ninth minute, followed by a Wave equalizer in the 59th. Some determined defending by the home side kept the score level until the 81st minute, when forward Claire Emslie—who had signed with Angel City earlier that same week—notched the game-winner.
The result brought LA to 5–4–2 for the season, and the club is currently just out of playoff position in seventh place.
Due to the postponement and a league-wide break the following week, this will be the first match in three weeks. 'The players have come in super fresh, super raring to go, and more excited than ever,' said Head Coach Freya Coombe. 'Everyone's super focused on on our next game this weekend and ready to go.'
OL Reign's most recent match was a 0–1 loss away at Kansas City. A penalty kick by KC midfielder Lo'eau LaBonta was the difference maker in that match, in which the Reign were missing a number of starters due to international duty. Defenders Alana Cook and Sofia Huerta, as well as midfielder Rose Lavelle and forward Megan Rapinoe, were with the US national team at the CONCACAF W Championship in Monterrey, Mexico; midfielder Quinn represented Canada at the same tournament.
In addition to the players returning from international duty, Seattle have made some splashy signings this summer, in former Portland Thorns midfielder Tobin Heath and Scottish international Kim Little, who previously played for the Reign from 2014–2016.
If Little and Emslie both see the field Saturday, this match will mark only the second time two Scotland internationals have faced each other in the NWSL. 'Obviously I know Kim Little really well,' said Emslie. 'She's incredible. I'm saying to the girls, just get tight and don't let her turn you, because she is so dangerous... She just is so composed on the ball, I think I rarely ever see her lose the ball—you can give her the ball in tight situations and she'll get you out of trouble.'
The Reign are currently 4–5–3 and tied with ACFC on points, with 17. Because the first tiebreaker is clubs' head-to-head record, they are in sixth place in the standings, having won their June 18 home game against Angel City 1–0.
'Reign have shown themselves to be a team that's very hard to break down, for the most part,' said Coombe. 'They press well and are well organized. And it's always [been] a very good and interesting tactical battle whenever we've faced them this year.'
In that match, which was a physical, back-and-forth affair with neither team maintaining control consistently, forward Bethany Balcer scored the game winner in the 31st minute. Including preseason, tomorrow's game will be Angel City's fourth meeting with OL, as the two teams met twice in the Challenge Cup.
'I think the games have been pretty close, with the exception of when we went down to ten in the Challenge Cup,' said Coombe. 'But other than that, we were very much toe to toe with them, if not a little bit ahead. I think since, then our games have been very close and just being separated by single-goal margins. So we're looking forward to to welcoming them to the Banc—And obviously they haven't played in this environment yet.'
This will also be the first game since June 11 that Angel City will have no players away on international duty, with Vanessa Gilles and Allyson Swaby wrapping up their commitments with Canada and Jamaica, respectively, at the CONCACAF W Championship last week.