Angel City take on San Diego Wave FC tomorrow, July 9, at 7:30 p.m. at Banc of California Stadium. The match will stream live on Paramount+. An English-language radio broadcast will air on iHeart, with a Spanish broadcast on KFWB 980 AM.
Last week ACFC earned a gritty 1–1 draw with the Portland Thorns at home. They opened the scoring in the second minute, when midfielder Savannah McCaskill's penalty kick was blocked and she followed through to tap the rebounded ball into the back of the net. The remainder of regulation time saw a strong defensive performance by the home side, but the Thorns got one back late in stoppage time, when defender Madison Pogarch sent in a cross that midfielder Yazmeen Ryan headed home.
The result brought LA to 4–4–2 for the season, putting them in sixth place.
San Diego are currently at the top of the table with a 6–2–3 record. Their most recent result was a 2–1 win at home against the Washington Spirit, with first-half goals by forward Makenzy Doniak and midfielder Belle Briede; midfielder Jordan Baggett notched the Spirit's only goal in second-half stoppage time.
The Wave joined the NWSL as an expansion team this year together with ACFC. Almost midway through the season, they have the best record of any expansion side in NWSL history. Their head coach, Casey Stoney, is a former player who earned 130 caps with England. She has built a fast-paced, direct attack, and San Diego has 18 goals on the season.
Players from both sides are on international duty for the CONCACAF W Championship, the North American qualifying tournament for the 2023 World Cup. Angel City is missing defenders Vanessa Gilles (Canada) and Allyson Swaby (Jamaica). The Wave are short four players due to the CONCACAF tournament: goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan (Canada), forward Alex Morgan (USA), defender Naomi Girma (USA), and midfielder Taylor Kornieck. Midfielder Sofia Jakobsson is also with her national team, Sweden, at the UEFA European Championship.
Angel City signed forward Claire Emslie, a Scottish international, this week. Head Coach Freya Coombe says she has been following Emslie since seeing her play with the Orlando Pride in 2019. 'She's a great fit for us in terms of someone that can press, can keep up with the level of play of the league, and also deal with the transitional moments within the league,' said Coombe. 'She's also a great football brain and someone who's good with the ball at her feet. She can play on the left, she can play on the right, she can play inside, so she has a bit of variability to her game.'
This match will be the first regular-season meeting between these two teams—they did play twice in preseason, with the Wave winning both contests—but the two California teams are poised to begin an exciting rivalry.
'I think every time you play in front of so many fans and such an amazing crowd, we feel the energy of that crowd,' said Coombe. 'So I think if all the fans and supporters are feeling that sort of rivalry and that tension and that competitive spirit, it's just going to pay off on the players and that makes it really exciting to be part of.'
Due to the international break, Angel City will have some absences—including defenders Vanessa Gilles and Allyson Swaby, who remain in camp with Canada and Jamaica, respectively, in preparation for the upcoming CONCACAF Championship.