Angel City earned their first win of the season today on the road against the Orlando Pride, following a penalty goal by forward Claire Emslie, an equalizer for Orlando by Messiah Bright, and a last-minute effort by forward Katie Johnson.
'Today was just a battle,' said Johnson after the game. 'Being away, especially at [Orlando's] home opener, their energy was really great… we really wanted to emphasize putting in a 90-plus minute match and today we showed that.'
In the 9th minute, Orlando had a chance when midfielder Ally Watt stripped the ball off ACFC midfielder Dani Weatherholt, dribbled a few yards, and took a hard, angled shot from the edge of the 18. Goalkeeper DiDi Haračić dove to block the ball out at the far post for a corner kick.
Angel City opened the scoring in the 39th minute on a penalty kick. Midfielder Savannah McCaskill booted a long pass to forward Alyssa Thompson, who was brought down in the box by defender Emily Madril, and center ref Danielle Chesky pointed to the spot. Emslie stepped up to take the kick and coolly slotted a low shot to the right as goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse dove left.
Orlando nearly got one back in first-half stoppage time when forward Adriana made a run up the right and fired off a shot from the right edge of the 18. Her attempt hit the far post and bounced to Watt, who sent her own shot wide.
The Pride came out after the break on the front foot, with a handful of chances culminating in an equalizer by forward Messiah Bright in the 51st minute.
After receiving a short pass in the center of the field by midfielder Erika Tymrak, Bright charged centrally towards goal, muscled between defenders Sarah Gorden and Megan Reid, and sent her shot past Haračić.
'She's a talent on the ball,' Head Coach Freya Coombe said of Bright after the game. 'Being able to drive with the ball [and make] intelligent runs off the ball as well, and she’s a force when she’s in the box.'
A series of substitutions by both coaches shifted the game’s energy, with the two teams trading a series of chances on transition over the final 20 minutes of regulation time.
'There’s going to be shifts in momentum,' said Coombe. 'In the last game, we started strong and the momentum shifted, but [this week] we were able to weather the storm a little bit more and then saw that the momentum shifted back.'
Angel City's next opportunity came in the 67th minute, courtesy of Weatherholt. Emslie found Simone Charley making a run up the right with a long pass; Charley dribbled to the right of the penalty area and sent a sideways pass into the six for Weatherholt, who one-timed the ball just wide of the far post.
Orlando substitute Summer Yates had a look in the 72nd minute, receiving a low cross from Adriana on the right, but she sent her one-time shot over the crossbar.
The visitors were unlucky not to go up in the 86th minute, first when forward Scarlett Camberos mishit a close-range shot off a low cross by defender Ali Riley. Weatherholt pounced on the second ball and struck a shot into the forearm of defender Haley McCutcheon as she went to ground. ACFC were awarded the second penalty kick of the night, with Emslie again stepping up and sending her shot to the right—but this time, Moorhouse guessed correctly and saved.
Angel City notched the game-winner after ten long minutes of stoppage time, when Emslie sent a corner kick to the near post. Midfielder Katie Johnson jumped above a scrum of defenders and got her head to the ball, sending it into the back of the net to give her team the go-ahead goal and the win.
'We can now say we can win ugly, and that’s really important in this league,' said Hammond after the game. 'All the people that came in off the bench were really big sparks of energy… Especially when you’re playing in Orlando humidity.'
Johnson's goal was the latest game winner in NWSL history.
'I was pleased with the fight that we had,' said Coombe. 'It was going to be scrappy. Going in there and just fighting and showing our desire and being relentless until the final whistle—I’m really proud of the players and their ability to dig in tonight.'
ACFC play next at home on Saturday, April 15, against Racing Louisville FC. The match will air on CBS Sports and internationally on NWSLSoccer.com.
