Angel City beat rival San Diego Wave FC 2–1 tonight at home in an exciting, back and forth game, following goals by defender Ali Riley and forward Claire Emslie for Angel City, and one by midfielder Kristen McNabb for San Diego.
“The supporters were amazing,' said Emslie after the game. 'Right from warmups they were loud, so coming into the game with such a great atmosphere made me happy and I’m glad I was able to score that goal.”
In the ninth minute, ACFC opened the scoring: while driving toward the back line, forward Sydney Leroux found Endo to her left. Endo passed to Riley as she made an overlapping run, and Riley took the ball to the end line and sent in a sharply angled shot that went under goalkeeper Carly Telford and into the net. The goal was the first of Riley’s NWSL career.
Much of the rest of the first half was uneventful, with neither side putting many chances together; the first 45 ended with just two shots on target, one for each team. In first-half stoppage time, however, the Wave were awarded a free kick from 25 yards which defender Abby Dahlkemper curled over the wall, hitting the crossbar.
Both sides came out swinging in the second half, with Leroux attempting a bicycle kick in the 47th minute that went wide of goal. The two teams traded chances over the next 15 minutes, with San Diego breaking through in the 59th. Forward Katie Johnson, who had subbed on a few minutes prior, sent in a through ball for McNabb as she made a run into the ride side of the penalty area. McNabb sent her left-footed shot to the far post to bring the score to 1–1.
The visitors came close again in the 63rd minute when midfielder Kelsey Turnbow sent in a cross from long range that goalkeeper Didi Haračić got her fingertips on, but didn’t stop; the ball bounced off the far post and fell Johnson near the goal line, but it bounced up and out over the end line.
ACFC was determined not to accept another draw, and kept pushing after San Diego equalized and nearly pulled ahead. “I think we all looked at last week and how disappointed we were in the way that we finished the game,' said Head Coach Freya Coombe after the game. 'We looked at ourselves and we knew we had to do better in order to finish the game and manage the game.”
Angel City kept knocking, and in the 70th minute defender Madison Hammond received a pass from Leroux near the penalty arc and put a hard, curving shot on frame, but Telford dove right to save.
In the 79th minute, defender Tyler Lussi was awarded a second yellow card, forcing the home side to play with 10 players the rest of the match.
“What I was so proud of tonight is how we lead as a group,' said Coombe. 'A big thing was the change that we made when we lost Tyler. The players know how to react and change the shape. Everyone is really bought in and everyone's on the same train looking to go in the same direction. That’s really important for a group, especially as an expansion team, to grow and to keep getting better and to keep getting that consistency.'
LA regained their one-goal lead in the 81st minute. Midfielder Cari Roccaro sent a low cross into the penalty box toward Leroux, who dummied the ball through to a wide-open Emslie on the far side of the box. Emslie one-timed the ball to the far post past a diving Telford.
'It came down the line,' said Emslie, 'and I tried to get up field and provide support. It was a good cross from Cari and Sydney dummied it really well. It came to me and I kept it rolling in the corner.”
In the 87th minute, Dahlkemper got her head on a corner kick from close range and put it on target. Haračić jumped and made a clutch save to keep ACFC ahead, tipping the ball over the bar.
“I think we’ve taken a step forward,' said Coombe. 'It is still our first year. It's a journey. And journeys aren't always one step forward and you keep going and you keep making those steps. But I think the fact that we've taken a good step forward tonight and we're making progress is really important for this group, especially against our rival team that's been sitting top of the table and has done a really great job. For us to come and get the result against them is a real confidence boost for our players. And then I think we needed that.”
Angel City plays North Carolina next Friday, July 15 at 4:30 p.m. PST in Cary, North Carolina.