NWSL Angel City FC

Angel City Football Club Defeats OL Reign 2-1 to Remain Unbeaten in Their Last Eight Matches

Published on August 28, 2023 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release


LOS ANGELES - Angel City Football Club (ACFC) beat OL Reign 2-1 tonight on the strength of goals by forward Clarisse Le Bihan and midfielder Madison Hammond. Reign forward Megan Rapinoe notched the single goal for the opposition.

ACFC opened the scoring in the 13th minute. The play started with midfielder Madison Hammond sending a long diagonal ball into the path of forward Scarlett Camberos as she made a run up the right wing. Reign keeper Claudia Dickey came off her line to try to clear the ball, but when she caught up with Camberos near the 18-yard line, the forward took a touch to beat her and sprinted into the penalty area. With her next touch, she sent a square cross into the six-yard box, where Le Bihan was making a run and hammered her shot into the roof of the net.

In the 24th minute, keeper DiDi Haračić made a big save. Reign forward Jordyn Huitema received a long ball near the halfway line and sprinted up the right wing into space; beating her mark, she took a low shot from the edge of the area, which Haračić dove right to collect.

The home team had another attempt in the 29th minute when they worked the ball up the right wing with a quick sequence of passes that started with defender Sarah Gorden passing to midfielder Savannah McCaskill, who passed to defender Ali Riley, who found Le Bihan in the pocket with a diagonal ball. Le Bihan put her shot on target, but Dickey saved it.

Reign regained some momentum in the last 10 minutes of the half, but Angel City defended well and kept their opponents from putting any more shots on frame.

LA doubled their lead in the 57th minute after being awarded a free kick from 30 yards out. Le Bihan sent her service into the six-yard box, where Hammond broke free of her mark and hit a volley on target. Dickey dove and got a piece of the shot but couldn't keep hold of it, and the ball hit the net to double Angel City's lead.

Reign pulled one back in the 74th minute after forward Bethany Balcer was fouled in the box by Camberos and earned a penalty kick. Forward Megan Rapinoe stepped up to the spot and sent a low shot to the left, just beating a diving Haračić.

Haračić came up big again in the 85th minute when defender Sofia Huerta beat her defender and took a hard diagonal shot that the keeper jumped and got a glove to, tipping it over the bar.

ACFC held on during seven tense minutes of extra time to earn the three points. The team plays next this Friday, September 1, away at Kansas City at 5:00 p.m. PT. The game will stream live on Paramount+.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

ACFC Defender Madison Hammond

On what she saw during the goal she scored in the 57':

"Set pieces have been a big area of improvement for me this year and I've been really focused on it. Secondly, as I was making my run into the box, I ran into Scarlett [Camberos] full speed and was trying to get her out of my way, but it actually made the timing of my run perfect."

"When it went off my foot, I was saying why am I free? I'm going to hit it, but I thought she saved it at first, and then when she didn't, I was pretty hyped."

On what it felt like to win down the final stretch with the crowd behind the club:

"In those moments, it's been a big area of growth for us. You look back to the first half of the season and we definitely left points on the table in those moments, whether we're up 2-1 or up 3-2. For us, it's this energy you feel where everyone's saying no, we're going to lock it down. You get big moments where we get a penalty against us. If you looked a couple of months ago, we probably would have folded."

"To have Jasmyne [Spencer] make a huge tackle, putting in scrappy fouls. Those are the things to close out a game that are really important, and we know that we have to get three points at every moment. I was really proud of the girls tonight."

On playing against Megan Rapinoe one last time:

"For me, I've had the privilege of playing with Rapinoe and to be a rookie and have somebody like her in the locker room, you would think it would be very intimidating or this big persona. I met her coming right off of the 2019 World Cup and suddenly became an icon."

"Rapinoe is Rapinoe and she shows up every single day, trains just as hard as everyone, and pushes everyone to be the best version of themselves. She also forces you to be the best version of yourself because she's so good. For me personally, I've just been inspired by her because she has become such a role model for so many people that she's done it just being her."

"That's what I've taken away. She's also hilarious and a really down to earth person, who doesn't take herself too seriously. To know that you can chase your dreams and do whatever you want on the field, but also still be yourself is pretty incredible."

ACFC Defender Ali Riley

On winning in front of 22,000 fans:

"It's been a whirlwind coming back from the 2023 Women's World Cup and this is the first time being back here [at BMO Stadium]. I'm realizing the amount of support that this club has, that I have. It's really overwhelming because I feel so lucky. For us to be able to win at home, it feels like we can give back to the fans who support us so much."

"Tonight was one of those nights that I'll remember for a long time. It was such a team effort. The crowd and the noise, it got a little bit dicey at the end, but they helped push us through those seven extra minutes and get the win."

On playing against Megan Rapinoe one last time:

"I can't speak for her, but we saw that moment played out globally at the World Cup and it's surreal to think that she won't be playing anymore. It makes me so happy to have been in the same generation as her. She will continue to use her platform and go on to do great things by using her voice off the field."

"She has such an amazing following, and she's bigger than the sport. I really believe in the way she uses her voice, how outspoken she is, how she advocates for others, and how she stands up for what she believes in. She's inspired me a lot. We've never been on the same team, but we've played against each other for so many years and I look forward to seeing all the endeavors she embarks on after. If we can work together in some capacity, it would be an honor."

On both clubs coming together to support Jenni Hermoso:

"It's tough right now because it's shocking what's going on. I don't know if there's been an update during the game, but it feels like every day we're learning new things. What gives me hope is to see most of the world coming together. I still think that as a collective voice, as women with our male allies now who are coming forward, we can't be ignored."

"I hope that just she feels the support. I hope that we just keep going and saying that we believe her, and say that we're with her. We want to see change. Players are putting their careers on the line for this, both the men's and women's Spainish National Team players."

"You're seeing the different club games now and I am looking forward to the day when change actually happens. For us being on this side of the world, I hope that she feels the support."

ACFC Interim Head Coach Becki Tweed

On the most challenging part about playing OL Reign:

"They're very organized, well coached, quality individual players and a quality team that knows how to win games. We knew going into it, it was going to be a challenge. We knew that we needed to be the best versions of ourselves to win the game and we knew it would take all of us to do it. We focused a lot on us and that showed, there were tough moments in the game, where we were able to pull each other through."

On McCaskill and Thompson's performances and their impact:

"When you look up our last eight to nine games, you can see that we have a plan and we know that teams are going to try to take our stripes and our plan away from us. So it's having a plan A, B and C."

"So it's just taking a look at what they took away from us and can we take something else from them. If you look at our first goal, we talked about getting the ball on the switch, and Madison put a brilliant ball in behind the back line, which was something we knew could hurt them in that space. There's moments where you have to be unselfish for the team and a lot of players showed that tonight. It was a real team effort."

On sub choices late in the game:

"We never want to just sit in. Our game identity relies on getting pressure on the ball. The minute we sit in, we draw pressure to ourselves. We knew Sydney could go in and be really smart in those moments, when to press, and the same goes for Claire. Claire's soccer IQ and savviness in those moments, she understands how to see out a game for us. She's brilliant in possession when we give her the ball."

"The depth of our bench is really important. You have to look at the flow of the game and manage the game. Of course you can plan subs out beforehand, but there may be moments that it doesn't plan out how you want it to plan out. It's nice for us to bring those players off the bench and players of that caliber off the bench to help us see out games."

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