Angel City return home Wednesday night, September 21, at 7:30 p.m. to take on the Washington Spirit. The match will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. An English-language radio broadcast will air on iHeart, with a Spanish-language broadcast available on KWKW 1330 AM.
ACFC's last result was a 0–1 loss away in San Diego. Wave forward Jaedyn Shaw scored the lone goal of the match, assisted by forward Sofia Jakobsson. Despite the scoreline, Head Coach Freya Coombe praised the team's performance after the match, calling it 'the strongest performance we've had in a while.' A quality penalty save by Wave keeper Kailen Sheridan was all that separated the visitors from earning a point on the road. The match, which set a new all-time single-game NWSL attendance record, was the fifth consecutive road game for Angel City, and the third in seven days.
With a 7–7–5 record, LA remains just out of playoff position in seventh place. No team has clinched a playoff spot yet.
Washington is in 10th place with a 3–6–10 record. Their last match was a 2–0 win at home against NJ/NY Gotham FC where forwards Tara McKeown and Ashley Sanchez scored.
The Spirit are the reigning NWSL champions, having beaten the Chicago Red Stars in the 2021 championship. After coming second in the 2022 Challenge Cup—they lost to the North Carolina Courage in the final—Washington had a difficult start to their season, thanks in part to a punishing schedule in the early months. The team won their first regular-season match and then went on a 16-game winless streak. They broke that streak two weeks ago in an exciting match against San Diego that ended 4–3 in their favor, following up with the win over Gotham in their next game.
Washington has a wealth of attacking talent; in addition to McKeown and Sanchez, forwards Trinity Rodman and Ashley Hatch pose scoring threats. Hatch, the top goalscorer for the Spirit, has eight goals on the season, good for sixth place in the golden boot race. She won the golden boot last season, with 10 regular-season goals.
In late August, the Spirit parted ways with head coach Kris Ward and have since hired Albertin Montoya as interim head coach.
Angel City last played Washington on May 15, where the club recorded their first-ever win on the road. Forward Christen Press, who is currently on the season-ending injury list, scored the only goal in the 1–0 win.