Angel City lost 0–2 on the road to the Chicago Red Stars in the final game of the season, following goals by forwards Mallory Pugh and Yuki Nagasato.
Chicago had the first quality chance of the game in the 12th minute, when Nagasato sent a sideways pass to midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo along the edge of the 18. She was one-on-one with keeper Almuth Schult, but Schult came off her line to claim the ball before she could shoot.
Angel City had a near miss in the 27th minute. Midfielder Savannah McCaskill combined with forward Simone Charley to set up a shot from the left-hand corner of the penalty box; her shot looked promising but narrowly missed, hitting the side netting.
Two minutes later, the visitors had another look, when defender Jasmyne Spencer dribbled up the right wing and crossed the ball into the six-yard box. McCaskill was making a well-timed run and hit the ball with her torso, but keeper Alyssa Naeher dove to block the shot.
Chicago notched the first goal of the matchin stoppage time. Forward Sarah Luebbert played a through pass to Pugh, who was making a diagonal run into the six-yard box. Pugh one-timed the ball to the far post and into the net to put the Red Stars up 1–0.
Early in the second half, Chicago had another chance when DiBernardo played a ball through for Nagasato. Schuld blocked Nagasato’s shot, but didn’t catch it, and DiBernardo shot the rebounded ball, which went wide.
In the 57th minute, Charley drew a penalty for LA when defender Tatumn Milazzo fouled her inside the box. McCaskill stepped up to take the penalty and sent the ball to the right; her shot hit the post and rolled out over the endline.
ACFC forward Jun Endo had a miss in the 62nd minute. She played a one-two pass to midfielder Clarisse Le Bihan at the top of the 18 to open up space and took a hard, curving shot with her left foot, but it sailed just wide.
The home team closed the scoring out in the 77th minute. Nagasato dribbled across the edge of the 18, found space between defenders Megan Reid and Paige Nielsen, and sent a hard left-footed shot to the near post, where it beat Schult to land in the back of the net.
The match was the first appearance for Schult, who arrived in LA in August. Reid’s 90 minutes in this match made her the only Angel City player to play every minute of the NWSL season.