Angel City beat Racing Louisville FC 3–2 on the road tonight, following goals by forward Christen Press and midfielder Savannah McCaskill for ACFC, and defender Gemma Bonner and forward Nadia Nadim for Louisville. The exciting, at-times physical match went down to the wire, with Angel City scoring the final goal of the game in second-half added time.
“It is important to grind out those games and put them away when we can,' said McCaskill after the game. 'Going down a goal early and then being able to fight back; going up a goal, tying again, and being able to draw the penalty at the very end of the game. I think it's huge.”
The game swung in Louisville’s favor early on, with the home team squeezing Angel City with a high press and preventing them from keeping possession for long. As time went on, LA started to find the spaces Racing were leaving open, finding a few chances in moments of transition and playing balls over the top.
The match was back and forth, however, and it was Louisville that struck first, in the 29th minute. Midfielder Savannah DeMelo stepped up to take a free kick from just outside the right edge of the penalty area and sent a curving ball to the top of the six-yard box, where Bonner—facing away from the goal—flicked it backwards past keeper DiDi Haračić to bring the score to 1–0.
Angel City kept pushing, and in the 36th minute, they made good on a direct transition play. Defender Megan Reid hit a long ball over the top of the Louisville back line into the path of Press’s run. Press sprinted around Bonner, took a few touches, and cleanly slotted the ball past keeper Katie Lund.
LA started the second half on the front foot. “We knew we had to up it going into halftime,' said Head Coach Freya Coombe after the game. 'Otherwise we would get punished by Louisville. It was great for us to come out and get that strong start in the second half and put them under pressure.”
That strong start came with the team's second goal of the night in the 47th minute. Press dribbled past her mark on the ride side of the 18-yard-box and chipped the ball over the top of Lund and the defense to the far post. McCaskill was lurking on the goal line and redirected the ball into the back of the net with her torso.
“We were talking earlier in the week about our need to get into the box and get numbers into the box,' said Coombe. 'That was a great example of committing to making those forward runs and showing up in those spaces.”
The game was still a back-and-forth affair, and Angel City had a few close calls before conceding again in the 65th minute. After Reid fouled DeMelo in the box, giving up a penalty kick, Nadim stepped up to the spot and placed her kick to the left, sending Haračić to the right to bring the score level again.
The remaining 25 minutes of regulation were a frenetic, physical affair, with both sides getting chances but neither one able to gain a real foothold on the game. In added time, Angel City earned a penalty of their own after Lund took forward Simone Charley down in the area.
“I thought Clarisse’s pass to Simone leading to the penalty was absolutely world class, a fantastic ball,' said Coombe. 'And a great run from Simone being able to get inside the box.”
McCaskill stepped up to take the kick against her former team and coolly slotted the ball just left of center, wrong-footing Lund and bringing LA ahead again. The score stayed level during almost ten minutes of stoppage time, and Angel City took home three points in their third game in eight days.
McCaskill summed up what the result meant for the team: “It shows a lot of heart from this group. And that's something that I think we've shown all season. That we are never going to just lay down and let a team win three points easily.”
Rookie forward Miri Taylor and defender Paige Nielsen each got their first starts today. Both played the first 45 minutes and subbed off at the half.
ACFC is on the road again next Saturday, June 18 against OL Reign in Seattle at 7:00 p.m. PST. The game will stream live on Twitch.
