New Year, New Faces: Angelina Anderson

The youngest member of Angel City's 2023 goalkeeping corps is Angelina Anderson, a 21-year-old out of Cal. Born and raised in Danville, California, Anderson was selected 27th overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft and inked a one-year contract with ACFC on January 26.

Her freshman year of college, Anderson was named Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year and Freshman of the Year, after starting every match and finishing the season with a conference-leading 85.1% save percentage. She acted as a team captain from her sophomore year onward, and left Cal in second place on the team's all-time shutout list, with 26—an especially impressive feat given that COVID cut her sophomore season short to just 13 games.

Anderson also has international experience at the youth level. In 2018, she captained the U-17 US Women's National Team at the World Cup in Uruguay. That same year, she was on the US roster for the U-20 World Cup in France.

Last December, ACFC goalkeeping coach Daniel Ball held a clinic where he evaluated a number of potential draft picks. Anderson stood out in several ways.

First, and most obvious, there was her height. Where Angel City's two returning keepers, DiDi Haračić and Brittany Isenhour, are both 5'9, Anderson is an even six feet tall. That has a major impact on the way she plays.

'She naturally, visually, takes away large portions of the goal,' explains Ball, 'and will likely use her feet to make saves more, because it’s a long way down to use your hands from up there! Our group was composed of very similar goalkeepers last year, and it’s going to be important that Angelina is true to her frame, while also feeling comfortable exploring new approaches.'

Anderson says she didn't always know how to take full advantage of her height, but worked hard on that area in college. 'Being a really tall goalkeeper, it's kind of expected that I have a really big range claiming crosses,' she says. 'My freshman year of college, my coach said, 'we've got to we got to work on this range. And by the time you leave here, it's going to be a strength of yours.''

'It was all about reps, reps, reps,' she remembers. 'Just seeing the ball, the depth perception, getting your footwork right. There's a lot that goes into it—so much more than meets the eye. I feel like I've improved a lot on it.'

Another thing Ball noticed about Anderson was her attitude on the field. Succeeding as a keeper, especially at the highest level, takes a unique kind of confidence and self-assuredness. 'She really wanted to always be in goal,' he says. 'As I watched the film back, I could tell she doesn't want to serve. She doesn't want to stand and watch. If there was an opportunity or hesitation for someone else there to not be in the goal, she wanted to be in the goal.”

With so many keepers on the field, Anderson made a point of showing off her eagerness to get between the posts. 'It was kind of a chaotic session, but I think that was the point,' she says. 'It was about, who can stand out, who's running to get back in goal, who's taking control?'

As important as confidence is, it's just one of the personality traits the coaching staff looks for—and for Ball especially, personality is key to a successful GK union. 'I don't care how good you are; if we're going to drop you in our group and you don't fit,' he explains, 'The rest of the group suffers.'

Ball describes Anderson as inquisitive and receptive to learning. 'If you can be receptive to coaching in our environment,' he says, 'the sky's the limit.'

He also notes that she comes across as impressively mature for her age. That's important as a baseline for professionalism—'being a goalkeeper in the NWSL is a ten-month slog,' Ball explains, and at this level, everyone is ultimately responsible for taking care of themselves mentally and physically. It's also an important quality when it comes to being the youngest keeper in the group.

'A part that no one ever really wants to talk about,' says Ball, is to ensure that 'whoever is playing contributes in a way that helps the team... I need you as a young member of our group to recognize that that's the reality of it, and not pander and beat around the bush. Ang has gone from being the priority at Cal to a focus here.' That can be a difficult shift for players who have spent their whole lives at or near the top of the depth chart.

“It’s an interesting challenge for me,” Anderson says. “How can I use those skills and the mindset of being a leader and being a positive force on the team, but in a different role?”

Anderson says even the short time she's been in a professional environment has had an impact on her.

“The biggest change for me was the standard and intensity in training,” she says. “Even if I’m acting as a server to DiDi or Brit, if my service isn't perfect and challenging them, it’s not getting the group better, and I'm going to hear about it. You have to lock in at all times—I learned that quick.”

Watching the two older keepers has also been invaluable. “We'll be doing a drill,' she explains, 'and Dan makes a point to me like, ‘your footwork has got to be different here.' Then I watch DiDi or Brit do it, and their footwork is exactly what I'm trying to replicate.”

After COVID cut Anderson's sophomore season short, she thought she'd want to take the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA to pursue a graduate degree. 'Then I got to my senior year,' she says, 'and I was like, 'I'm ready for my next chapter.''

Although the move to LA was antithetical to her Bay Area upbringing, 'when I heard my name called at the draft,' she says, 'I was so overjoyed. That kind of reaffirmed for me that I made the right decision.'