Angel City fell 0–1 at home to the Washington Spirit today following a penalty goal in stoppage time by Spirit forward Ashley Sanchez.
Despite the result, the group was positive about the team's performance. 'This was probably one of the best games that we came out all together as a team and really played all together,' said defender MA Vignola after the game. 'The whole point of this game was to come out flying the first five minutes of the game and break them down.'
We needed to do more in order to put pressure and have more shots on target in order to win the game,' said Head Coach Freya Coombe after the game. 'However, I definitely don't think we should have lost the game. We defended really well, we were compact, we were resolute, we were organized defensively... It was unfortunate the game ended the way it did.'
Washington forced keeper DiDi Haračić to make the first save of the night in the 18th minute when a chaotic sequence involving blocked attempts and partial clearances by multiple players ended with forward Ashley Hatch putting a looping half-volley on target. Despite being partially screened, Haračić did well to jump and catch the attempt.
The Spirit came close again in the 23rd minute when Haračić punched away a free kick by defender Sam Staab. Sanchez picked up the recycled ball near the center of the box, but her attempt was off target.
Both sides continued to push for the remainder of the half, with each getting into the opposing box a number of times. Angel City had a handful of nervy moments, but gritty defending all four players on the back line—Madison Hammond, Sarah Gorden, Paige Nielsen, and MA Vignola—kept Washington off the board. Vignola also had ACFC’s only first-half shot on target in the 43rd minute, but keeper Aubrey Kingsbury made the save.
'I think the biggest thing with our backline is we're really gritty,' said Vignola. 'We're competitive and we don't like to lose. And that means even one-v-one opportunities, we know that they have good threats up top, but we were prepared for that, and we knew that if we're going to come in and put bodies on them and give them not an easy chance, they weren't going to finish—and out there on the field, they didn't finish.'
Coombe echoed Vignola, saying, 'we defended well against Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman. We didn't allow them a lot of time and space on the ball, especially facing forward.'
Angel City came out swinging in the second half, with forward Alyssa Thompson getting a near miss in the 51st minute. Forward Jun Endo intercepted a Washington pass and found Thompson making a run up the left. Thompson drove into space in the box, beating the Spirit center backs, but couldn’t find the right angle and sent her shot into the outside of the side netting.
In the 68th minute, Haračić swatted away a Washington corner kick, but the ball wasn’t completely cleared and eventually fell to forward Trinity Rodman, who sent a right-footed shot just wide of the left post.
Much of the last five minutes of regulation time took place in Angel City’s attacking third, with the team getting a handful of chances and near-chances on goal. In the 87th minute, Vignola wrestled past midfielder Marissa Sheva on the left side of the penalty box to send in a shot in, but it was from a difficult angle and went wide.
Assessing the team's offensive performance, Vignola said, 'I think that if we could just take a second and breathe, there's other opportunities, other slip balls that we can look at, because I think that we're really focused on going wide. But I think we can really drill teams inside, so that's the next step, to really connect those inside passes and finish our chances.'
In stoppage time, Washington was awarded a penalty due to a handball in the box by Vignola. Hatch stepped up to take the shot and buried it past Haračić in the 94th minute.
Notwithstanding the penalty call, Coombe praised Vignola's performance after the game. 'She did well defensively,' she said. 'She was able to shut them down on [the right] side, she was able to intercept well, she got forward, she led the team on shots on target.'
Angel City plays North Carolina on the road next Saturday at 4:00 p.m. Pacific. The match will be streamed on Paramount+.
