Angel City drew NJ/NY Gotham FC 0–0 today in a back-and-forth match played in high heat and humidity. The game was the team's second shutout in a row and marked the 100th NWSL match for Angel City midfielder Savannah McCaskill.
“Today we're disappointed,' said Interim Head Coach Becki Tweed. 'We weren't good enough. We will all hold our hands up and say that we could be better and we'll move forward from it. The best thing for us is we weren't good enough, but we were able to keep a clean sheet.”
The game got off to a slow start, with Angel City seeing the lion’s share of possession early on, but having little luck going forward. The game started to open up around the 20th minute, with Gotham getting the first real chance in the 25th minute. Defender Jenna Nighswonger intercepted a short diagonal pass by goalkeeper DiDi Haračić and passed to forward Delanie Sheehan in the box, who sent her shot straight to Haračić.
It was the first of a number of good saves by Haračić, who also praised the performance of the rest of the defense. “I'm happy with [my performance],' she said. 'Any day you get a clean sheet is always a good day. I had moments and showed up in those moments. As for the team, my front four also had moments and showed up. We've made it clear, here's our structure defensively. It's shown in the past, two to three games.”
In the 28th minute, Angel City had a chance of their own when defender Megan Reid hoofed a long ball over the top for McCaskill as she made a run. McCaskill sprinted into the box and took a shot, which deflected off goalkeeper Abby Smith to the feet of ACFC forward Jasmyne Spencer. Spencer made her own attempt, but Nighswonger blocked the shot out for a corner kick.
One minute later, Gotham answered with a shot by forward Yazmeen Ryan, who ran up the left wing onto a through ball by Sheehan. Ryan cut inside into the box and shot from a sharp angle, but Haračić blocked it.
In first-half stoppage, Nighswonger scooped up a headed ball from Angel City defender Madison Hammond, did a quick one-two with midfielder McCall Zerboni to beat her mark, and shot with her left foot from inside the 18—but Haračić did well to jump and tip the ball over the bar.
The second half had a different tenor, with a quicker pace and more action in and around both 18s.
Angel City had a near miss in the 58th minute when forward Scarlett Camberos sent a through ball to McCaskill as she made an overlapping run. McCaskill dribbled into the box and passed sideways back to Camberos, whose shot was blocked by Gotham defender Ali Krieger.
Gotham forward Midge Purce, who subbed in after the break, was dangerous throughout the half. One chance in the 66th minute saw Zerboni pass up the right wing to Purce, who beat Nielsen, dribbled into the box, and shot at the near post, where Haračić made another good save.
ACFC’s best chance of the game came in the 82nd minute, when forward Clarisse Le Bihan sent a through ball to forward Claire Emslie, who carried it into the penalty area and nearly got one on one with Smith. Ryan sprinted back to defend and got there just in time to make a sliding block of Emslie’s shot.
In second-half stoppage time, Sheehan served a ball into the 18 for Nighswonger, who headed it just wide of the far post.
“We were able to get a point out of the game on the road and those are huge positives,' said Tweed. 'We can keep momentum rolling, but we know we can be better as a group in every area. That's something that we'll sit down and look at this week.”
Today’s match marked the return of Gotham midfielder Mana Shim, who had not played a professional match since 2019. Shim was one of two players (the other being her Gotham teammate, Sinead Farrelly) who came forward in 2021 to tell the story of the abuse a former coach perpetrated against her and Farrelly. The two players’ stories prompted a wave of additional revelations and ultimately reforms that made the league a safer place.
Angel City plays next at home on Sunday, July 9 at 5:00 p.m. against the North Carolina Courage. That game will be broadcast locally on Bally SoCal and will stream on Paramount+.