Angel City fell 1–0 to OL Reign tonight in the quarterfinal of the 2023 NWSL playoffs. Forward Veronica Latsko had the game-winning goal.
The first half was largely a midfield battle. Angel City came away with the edge in possession by 54% to the Reign’s 46%, but both teams stayed compact out of possession and limited their opponent going forward.
ACFC, however, strung together several promising attacks that challenged the Reign’s strong defending inside the area.
In the 30th minute, forward Scarlett Camberos found Claire Emslie with a diagonal ball to the right wing. Emslie sprinted a few steps and sent a low cross toward the six-yard box that deflected slightly off a Reign defender before landing in the path of forward Sydney Leroux, who slid to get a foot on it but was beaten by keeper Claudia Dickey.
Angel City had another look in the 39th minute when Leroux intercepted a Reign pass and sent a sideways ball to midfielder Savannah McCaskill. McCaskill lofted a diagonal ball over the top for Emslie, who drove into the box and hit a low cross with her left foot that was blocked.
The Reign had a flurry of chances early in the second half, starting in the 47th minute when midfielder Jess Fishlock found forward Megan Rapinoe with a lateral ball across the top of the box. Having caught Angel City in transition, Rapinoe was one-v-one with keeper Angelina Anderson, but her left-footed shot from inside the 18 went just high.
In the 52nd minute, Veronica Latsko sent in a shot/cross from outside the 18-yard-box that hit the far post. With Anderson diving, the ball rebounded to midfielder Jess Fishlock on the left side of the area, who put a hard shot on frame—which defender Paige Nielsen saved off the line.
Seattle had another chance just a minute later when Rapinoe found another shot in transition from a similar position to her 47th-minute effort and sent a hard shot to the far post. Anderson made a full-extension dive and just got her fingertips on the ball to block it out for a corner.
After a hectic ten minutes, the game settled back down. The two teams continued to battle it out in the midfield, with few quality chances from either side; in the 63rd minute, Angel City midfielder Amandine Henry had the first attempt of the half for her team, sending a hard shot from the edge of the 18 just wide following a service from Emslie.
Reign scored the lone goal in the 87th minute when Rapinoe sent a long cross from the left wing into the six-yard box. Forward Veronica Latsko made a well-timed run and beat both her markers to put a header on target, which Anderson dove to save but couldn’t stop.
Angel City continued to fight for an equalizer, but after four minutes of added time, the whistle blew, eliminating Angel City from the 2023 playoffs.
