Angel City beat the Washington Spirit 2–1 at home tonight following goals by forwards Claire Emslie and Simone Charley, and a penalty goal for Spirit forward Ashley Hatch. The match was the team’s first home NWSL game since August 14.
'That extra boost of being able to come here and feel that love is our purpose, it's our why,' said defender Ali Riley after the game. 'Of course we felt that love on the road. However, to be actually here in this kind of do or die scenario, on a Wednesday night with that kind of crowd, against a really good team that has been on a hot streak, felt really good and was our best performance.'
The first 30 minutes or so were largely a midfield battle, with neither team gaining control of the game. Washington employed an aggressive press, but Angel City maintained their composure and played out of it a number of times, looking to go forward from early on in the match.
The first real chance for either side, however, didn’t come until the 32nd minute. On a corner kick by forward Claire Emslie, midfielder Clarisse Le Bihan found a close-range header but hit the woodwork.
The two teams traded a flurry of chances back and forth over the ensuing ten minutes. In the 32nd minute, defender Paige Nielsen sent in a curling shot from 20 yards that looked destined for the upper 90, but it went just wide; a minute later, defender Ali Riley made an outstanding defensive play, sprinting to keep up with Washington forward Trinity Rodman as she was about to get one on one with keeper DiDi Haračić and flicking the ball away from the 2021 Rookie of the Year for a corner kick.
In the 36th minute, midfielder Ashley Sanchez put a free kick from just outside the penalty area on frame, and Haračić dove right to make a difficult save. She made another two minutes later on an attempt by midfielder Dorian Bailey.
In the 39th minute, Angel City broke through when Riley received a long pass up the left wing and sent a low cross in behind the Washington defense. Emslie, who had been threatening all night, made a well-timed run and one-timed the ball into the top netting.
'We had a few opportunities with overloads on our left side and Savannah was coming over, we had Jun inside, those are players who you want to find to feed,' said Riley. 'I let them come to feed and thought we needed someone to stretch the line, so I was trying to make those runs. I had a ball a couple of minutes before that I wish I had taken another touch, and I told myself, 'if I get this chance again... I'm going to take my time and look up to play a better ball across.' Claire had a phenomenal evening and was there and ready for it.'
After halftime, it didn’t take long for ACFC to run up the score to 2–0. In the 51st minute, Jasmyne Spencer sent in a cross from the right; forward Simone Charley found herself with space in the six-yard box and headed the ball past keeper Aubrey Kingsbury.
Haračić had another save in the 57th minute when Hatch fired off a hard left-footed shot from the penalty arc. The keeper dove right to block the ball out over the endline.
In the 87th minute, Washington earned a penalty kick following a foul in the box by Angel City midfielder Dani Weatherholt. Hatch stepped up to the spot and sent the ball to the right at waist height. Haračić dove left, and the score was at 2–1.
LA continued to defend and held their lead for the remaining three minutes of regulation, plus four minutes of stoppage time, and ended the night with a crucial three points as the playoff race remains neck and neck.
'We didn't let that moment [of the penalty kick] pull us apart tonight,' said Riley. 'We even had chances to get forward and kill the game off more than we have in any other game. I thought maybe we would even score again, and that kind of feeling is a lot better than what we've experienced before. It's a testament to what we've learned about each other this season and how we've grown as a team.'
Angel City plays their final home game against Racing Louisville FC on Sunday, September 25 at 5:00 p.m.
