Match Preview: Angel City vs NJ/NY Gotham FC | 7.6.24

Saturday, July 6 at 7:00 p.m., Angel City is at home against NJ/NY Gotham FC. The match will be broadcast in the US on ION and internationally on NWSL+. English- and Spanish-language radio broadcasts will be available on iHeart and 1330 Tu Liga Radio, respectively. The game will be the club’s Olympic Send-off match, as the last regular-season game before the seven-week Olympic break.

Tickets to the match only are available here; the Mix & Match Ticket Pack, which includes entry to the game and Angel City's Mix & Match singles mixer (more information in "Know Before You Go" below), are for sale here.

Matchup

Angel City’s last game was a 0–3 loss at home to Orlando Pride, following a first-half brace by midfielder Adriana and a third in stoppage time by forward Barbra Banda.

Gotham’s last result was a 1–1 draw at home against the Seattle Reign. That game saw midfielder Rose Lavelle open the scoring in the 47th minute, with an own goal by Gotham midfielder Nealy Martin late in stoppage time securing the draw for Seattle.

Fourth-place Gotham’s current record is 8–3–4 (W–L–D). Angel City sit in 11th place with a 4–8–3 record.

ACFC is 1–3–1 all-time against Gotham. Their most recent result was a 1–2 loss on the road in early June.

Scouting Report

After a sputtering 1–2–2 start to the 2024 season, the 2023 champions have picked up momentum and are 7–1–3 since April 28.

Gotham went on a hiring spree this past offseason, bringing in four US Women’s National Team regulars—defender Tierna Davidson, midfielder Crystal Dunn, midfielder Rose Lavelle, and defender Emily Sonnett—but it’s a lower-profile player, former Chicago Red Stars midfielder Ella Stevens, who currently sits at the top of the team’s scoring chart with five on the season. 

Stevens’s form is just one example of how Gotham isn’t a team whose success depends on its stars; its chance creation also comes from multiple sources, as midfielder Yazmeen Ryan and defender Jenna Nighswonger each have three assists, while Stevens and forward Esther each have two.

The team has continued to find success with the possession-based style implemented last season by head coach Juan Carlos Amorós. They are also a defensively strong team and currently have the second-fewest goals conceded in the league with just 12, only one more than second-place Orlando.

A Proper Send-off

Angel City only has one player, New Zealand’s Ali Riley, competing at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, but five others—forward Claire Emslie, midfielder Kennedy Fuller, midfielder Rocky Rodríguez, forward Alyssa Thompson, and defender Gisele Thompson—have been called up for international duty at either the senior or youth level.

Emslie will play for Scotland in a qualifying match for the 2025 UEFA European Championship against Slovakia, while Rodríguez will represent Costa Rica in the US Women’s National Team’s final pre-Olympics friendly on July 16.

Alyssa Thompson has been called in as a training player in the USA’s pre-tournament camp, but not named to the final roster, which consists of only 18 players. Gisele Thompson and Fuller have each been called up for US Youth National Teams—the U20s for Thompson and the U17s for Fuller.

Know Before You Go

• A pre-game street fair in Christmas Tree Lane outside the north end of BMO Stadium, featuring food trucks, partner activations, games, and more, will start at 4:00 p.m.
• Angel City will host its first-ever Mix & Match singles mixer from 4:30 to 5:00 p.m. at the stadium. You must buy a ticket in advance to attend. Tickets and more information are available here.