Sports stats



NWSL Angel City FC

Angel City Football Club Continues Unbeaten Streak With Road Win Against Kansas City Current

September 1, 2023 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release


KANSAS CITY, KS - Tonight Angel City Football Club beat Kansas City Current 1-0 on the road following a goal by defender Jasmyne Spencer. The win moved ACFC into seventh place heading into the weekend, level on points with sixth-place OL Reign and just below the playoff line. It was also the team's first shutout win of the regular season.

Angel City had their first chance of the game in the 11th minute, following a free kick by forward Clarisse Le Bihan. The ball fell into the six-yard box, where defender Paige Nielsen was making a run. The ball pinged off either Nielsen or her marker, Kate Del Fava as both crashed the net and was on frame, but Current keeper AD Franch made an impressive reflex save to block it out for a corner.

In the 25th minute, ACFC keeper Angelina Anderson, who made her NWSL regular season debut,answered with an eye-popping stop of her own. Kansas City midfielder Michelle Cooper sent a long diagonal ball into the run of forward Kristen Hamilton. Hamilton sprinted into the box, cut past her defender, and sent a low shot to the far post, but Anderson dove right to deflect it over the endline.

Nielsen had another chance in the 32nd minute. A corner kick by Le Bihan fell to defender Elizabeth Ball, but Ball didn't manage to direct her header, and it bounced to a wide-open Nielsen, who headed it over the bar.

In stoppage time, forward Scarlett Camberosreceived the ball on the right wing and dribbled into the box. She shook defender Izzy Rodriguez and took a crack at the near post, which Franch blocked for a corner kick.

Kansas City had a look in the 48th minute when forward Hailie Mace took a shot on a transition play that Gorden blocked; a few moments later, Cooper sent a recycled cross back in for midfielder Debinha, whose shot defender Jasmyne Spencer blocked.

As the half went on, the game got stretched, with mistakes leading to turnovers on both sides, but a long solo run leading to a shot on target by Spencer in the 62nd minute that Franch saved foreshadowed what would be the game-winner a few minutes later.

In the 66th minute, Spencer made a run up the right into the box and beat Debinha on the dribble. Spencer's initial shot was blocked by defender Gabrielle Robinson, but deflected back to her feet. The league veteran's second shot took a slight deflection en route to the far post and skipped past Franch and into the back of the net. The goal was Spencer's first in an Angel City uniform.

Kansas City picked up the pace entering the final 20 minutes of regulation, and Debinha had a near miss in the 72nd minute. The midfielder combined with Mace to beat her defender near the corner of the 18, then fired off a rocket that went just wide of goal.

In the 83rd minute, forward Sydney Leroux, who had just subbed into the game, volleyed a service from the right on target, forcing Franch into another full-extension dive in order to make the stop.

The game saw the first regular-season appearance and start for Anderson, and the first appearance for midfielder Amandine Henry, who subbed in for midfielder Dani Weatherholt in the 68th minute.

Angel City plays next in two weeks on Sunday, September 17 against the Chicago Red Stars on the road at 3:00 p.m. PST.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

ACFC Goalkeeper Angelina Anderson

Overall thoughts on the match and getting a clean sheet:

"It's always good to get a clean sheet, especially the way that we got it. It was chaotic. We really had to fight to the end. For my first regular season game, it was really a test of how calm I can be in those moments. I had a lot of fun. I'm so glad we got a shut out."

On her saves in the first half:

"I really didn't see the first one come off the player's foot. It was a late reaction and pure reaction. I got up there and held on to it. Even I was a little surprised I held on to it. Ultimately it prevented another corner. It was great that I could keep my two paws on it."

"The other one was down low to my left foot. I told myself you have to get down and get this around the post. I felt really confident in the moment and really happy to come up big for my team."

On the defensive performance tonight:

"Every single one of our players came up huge. I remember late in the second half, M.A. [Vignola] had a beautiful slide tackle to get the ball out for a corner. Sarah [Gorden] had tons of blocks in the box. Paige [Nielsen] was out there working so hard. She was cramping at the end of the game, but just giving it her all."

"Jasmyne [Spencer] was shutting things down on her one-v-one battles. I'm so lucky to play with these defenders. It's absolutely incredible."

ACFC Defender M.A. Vignola

Overall thoughts on the match:

"Going into this match, we knew it was going to be a grind. Kansas City is very good on the transition as we saw multiple times in the game. However, we were pretty much very closed down and had our defense on lock tonight. We were able to cover those places that we weren't able to get through in the midfield.

"There were points in the game where we needed to slow it down a little bit where we didn't. We were in a transition game back and forth, but that's what we decided at half time when we needed to come to a change, play our game and not play Kansas City's game."

On Angelina Anderson's debut performance and her communication to the backline:

"She was huge in this game. They had a couple of chances pretty soon after the first whistle. She held her ground back there and is becoming very good with her feet. She was able to spray balls out wide and keep possession for us. Overall, she played huge tonight."

"She was talking the whole game, which is really good, especially for her age. She is always voicing to us, making sure that we're looking left and right behind our shoulders. She's moving us where we need to be moved. She was amazing tonight with the voice that was very much needed."

On the team being able to hold on in the final minutes and was has changed to allow them to do so:

"Becki [Tweed] is a big part of that. Training has been very competitive, which is translating to the field on game days. Also the most important thing too is that we're drilling into each other's heads. We are all together, everyone's important, everyone has a role, everyone's role is important. It doesn't matter if you're coming off the bench or you're playing 90 minutes, everyone's important, everyone's needed."

"We all built into that a ton. That's the lifestyle here and we're showing it on the field. It would've been nice if we could get another goal or two to kind of settle the game down. However, coming out with results like this and having a shutout is huge."

ACFC Interim Head Coach Becki Tweed

Thoughts on the match:

"I feel like it was probably the most transitional game that we have seen in a while. At times both teams got really stretched. We knew that KC is brilliant in transition. It was something that we kind of had to take away from them. I think we found ourselves in a lot of emergency defending situations. You can see tonight that it doesn't always have to be pretty.

"You have to do the ugly stuff really well. To keep moving forward as a team, you have to be well-rounded and we just grafted out a result against a really good team on the road."

On adjustments made at halftime:

"I think we needed to recognize that where we can hurt teams is sometimes in behind. We have two options, to play at their feet or play into behind and we have to make the most of that. We have to look at what they give us and make the most of that. We could have played in behind them a little more on the weak side to test them. I thought we were really hurting them in wide areas when Scarlett and Claire were able to go face forward and go at them."

"Again the conversation was we have to do the ugly stuff really well the whole game. We can't pick and choose the moments when we do that. Second half, we were able to identify that and grind it out."

On what she has seen that has allowed the group to be consistent in this unbeaten run:

"I think we have talked about the next five or six games as a cup final. We want to be in control of our own destiny. It takes more than the eleven players that are starting. We had a couple changes in the lineup tonight. We want to keep things fresh. We want to make sure that we use our squad.

Ultimately, you need a squad to continue to compete week-to-week in this league. This league is what it is because there are so many good players.

"It is pulling each other through moments. No game is going to go for you. There are going to be ebbs and flows and you have to manage both sides of the ball. Sometimes you just need a teammate to pull you through. We got there as a group now. If it's not one person, it's another person. It is like having 25 leaders that are pulling each other through.

On Amandine Henry's entering the game and her performance:

"We know she is a top player. For us, it is managing people as humans and as players. Making sure the moments they get on the field make sense. She came here carrying a slight injury. We wanted to make sure she was 100 percent fit, confident, and healthy to be on the field. We knew when she was ready she was going to make an impact and we felt like that was tonight.

"She reads the game really well. Good IQ. If you want people on your side that you're 1-0 and under pressure, she can read the game and organize. She has won things for a reason. It is in her DNA and her personality and that is what we need at this point in the season."

On putting Angelina Anderson in goal and her performance:

"We talk about a squad. We talk about having players that can step up at any moment. I think whether we had gone with Angelina or Brittany [Isenhour], we were prepared. We have been able to play both of them this season, which has been brilliant. Being able to use them in the Challenge Cup was really important to prepare us for moments like this.

"You can see in Angelina's performance, she made a couple of quality saves for her first game and how young she is. Her maturity, the way she steps into situations, she looks like she has been there and done it all and she is 22-years-old."

"Credit to all of our goalkeepers. They are all ready to play at any moment. Dan [Ball] has done a brilliant job of preparing them for any moment that needs to happen. Whoever is going to be in goal, we support them and are behind them for any moment of any game."

Check out the Angel City FC Statistics



National Women's Soccer League Stories from September 1, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central