'We're Not Done Yet': Ali Riley on Angel City's Historic Playoff Berth

Heading into their June 17 game on the road against San Diego, little had gone right for Angel City. Having recorded only two wins on the season, the team sat in 11th place. They'd picked up just one point in their last five games, scoring three goals in that stretch. And the club had just parted ways with Head Coach Freya Coombe.

But Interim Head Coach Becki Tweed later said the team knew could beat their rivals, and that's exactly what happened.

The come-from-behind win—on the strength of goals by defenders Paige Nielsen and MA Vignola—was the start of what would become an eight-game regular-season unbeaten streak. The midseason resurgence culminated on Sunday with a 5–1 dismantling of the then-No.1 Portland Thorns that clinched the club's first-ever playoff berth.

What looks on paper like a Cinderella story was anything but, said team captain Ali Riley at training this week. 'We approached it one game at a time,' she says. 'Every game was a must-win. When we got to that final game, it's like, we've been here 12 times, where we knew if we wanted a chance at the playoffs we had to win. It didn't feel like we had to rise to the occasion in that game because we've been fighting for so long.'

For Riley, that sums up who this club is. 'This team just fights,' she says. ' I don't think that would be the first image people think of when we have this Hollywood atmosphere, but that's been the defining identity of this team.'

'Everyone works so hard,' she continues. 'When you see someone like Sav sprinting back and making a tackle—everyone is willing to do whatever it takes for each other.'

That spirit of togetherness from all 25 active players on the roster has been key to carrying the team this far. 'So many players had a part in this and played different roles,' says Riley. 'We dealt with injuries; we had players out for the World Cup right as the streak in the second half the season started. There were so many different dynamics at play, but so many players made an impact.'

The players in the lineup any given week couldn't do what they do on gameday without the entire roster grinding it out at training every day. 'Even the players who didn't get a lot of minutes made a huge impact on the training ground,' says Riley. 'That's where all the work happens.'

All that hard work paid off over the weekend in the form of Angel City's most comprehensive performance to date. In terms of the standings, the club just barely made the playoffs, but in terms of quality, their final regular-season game was an emphatic statement to the rest of the league.

Not only did the team win by the biggest margin in their two-year history, they also outshot the Thorns 13–8 and limited the best defense in the league to .63 expected goals. ACFC's defense held Portland to six shots from inside the box, down from their average of 11. What's more, all of those shots except one—midfielder Hina Sugita's goal—were low-percentage chances from the edges of the 18.

'I think we're peaking at the right time,' says Riley. 'The energy we were able to put into the game on Sunday was really impressive. I mean, the goals, the recovery, the defense. We did everything.'

Just making the playoffs is a big achievement, both from the perspective of where the team was in June and looking back at the end of 2022, when Angel City closed the season out with two painful losses to finish eighth. 'It was our goal last year,' Riley says. 'Of course, we fell short and it was so disappointing. But our supporters and staff and everyone said, 'we believe in you and we're going to grow next season.''

The LA native says that without that support from everyone in the community, the team wouldn't be where they are now. 'I hope that everyone around the club,' she says, 'no matter what job they have, and every supporter who's backed us and believed and showed up, feels like they were part of this, because they are.'

'We made history for this club,' says Riley. 'And I think now it's all about putting in a performance that shows what fighters we are, and the belief, the confidence, but also the joy that we all feel doing something that we love.'

Angel City checked one box off the to-do list this weekend, but there's more to come.

'It's so rewarding to reach our goal,' Riley says. 'And of course, we're not done yet.'