Sports stats

NWSL Angel City FC

Angel City Football Club Defeats San Diego Wave FC in First-Ever SoCal Rivalry Match

July 10, 2022 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release


LOS ANGELES, CA - Angel City FC (ACFC) beat rival San Diego Wave FC 2-1 tonight in front of a sold-out home crowd in an exciting, back and forth game, following goals by defender Ali Riley and forward Claire Emslie for Angel City, and one by midfielder Kristen McNabb for San Diego.

In the ninth minute, ACFC opened the scoring while driving toward the back line, forward Sydney Leroux found Endo to her left. Endo passed to Riley as she made an overlapping run, and Riley took the ball to the end line and sent in a sharply angled shot that went under goalkeeper Carly Telford and into the net. The goal was the first of Riley's NWSL career.

Much of the rest of the first half was uneventful, with neither side putting many chances together; the first 45 ended with just two shots on target, one for each team. In first-half stoppage time, however, the Wave were awarded a free kick from 25 yards which defender Abby Dahlkemper curled over the wall, hitting the crossbar.

Both sides came out swinging in the second half, with Leroux attempting a bicycle kick in the 47th minute that went wide of goal. The two teams traded chances over the next 15 minutes, with San Diego breaking through in the 59th. Forward Katie Johnson, who had subbed on a few minutes prior, sent in a through ball for McNabb as she made a run into the ride side of the penalty area. McNabb sent her left-footed shot to the far post to bring the score to 1-1.

The visitors came close again in the 63rd minute when midfielder Kelsey Turnbow sent in a cross from long range that goalkeeper Didi Haračić got her fingertips on, but didn't stop; the ball bounced off the far post and fell Johnson near the goal line, but it bounced up and out over the end line.

ACFC kept knocking, and in the 70th minute defender Madison Hammond received a pass from Leroux near the penalty arc and put a hard, curving shot on frame, but Telford dove right to save.

In the 79th minute, defender Tyler Lussi was awarded a second yellow card, forcing the home side to play with 10 players the rest of the match.

LA regained their one-goal lead in the 81st minute. Midfielder Cari Roccaro sent a low cross into the penalty box toward Leroux, who dummied the ball through to a wide-open Emslie on the far side of the box. Emslie one-timed the ball to the far post past a diving Telford. This match was Emslie's ACFC debut.

In the 87th minute, Dahlkemper got her head on a corner kick from close range and put it on target. Haračić jumped and made a clutch save to keep ACFC ahead, tipping the ball over the bar.

Angel City plays the North Carolina Courage next Friday, July 15 at 4:30 p.m. PST in Cary, North Carolina live on Paramount +.

POST MATCH QUOTES

ACFC Forward Claire Emslie

On the sequence of the goal and arrival to Los Angeles in the past week:

"I arrived Tuesday night and managed to enjoy Los Angeles on Wednesday and got right into training on Thursday which led me to play tonight, so it's been very nice."

"As far as the goal, it came down the line and I tried to get up field and provide support. It was a good cross from Cari and Sydney dummied it really well. It came to me and I kept it rolling in the corner."

"The supporters were amazing. Right from warm ups they were loud, so coming into the game with such a great atmosphere, made me happy and I'm glad I was able to score that goal."

On experience of playing at the Banc and role on Angel City FC:

"I've been following the team from the start of the season, and I knew the atmosphere here would be great with so much talent. It was better than I could have expected, it was incredible."

"I was told half the time to stay late and be positive on the attack, which was pretty simple. The game was quite open when we started spreading the ball and switching. Obviously we went down to 10 players and knew we needed to get a goal. We knew getting a quick screen with a player down was going to be tough."

On what sticks out the most about Angel City FC:

"The club's model is brilliant, from the founders and the owners right to all the staff and those behind the scenes, it's truly amazing to see. It's really given me what I need to perform and I appreciate everything the club's done."

"They do things the right way. I've always experienced quite a lot playing in England and Australia and this is probably the best setup I've experienced so far."

Angel City FC Head Coach Freya Coombe:

On the positives of the evening:

"There were some great successes from tonight. Lily Nabet had a very good game with her first start of the season. She did very well in possession. It was a lot for her to go from zero minutes to a complete 90 minutes. Same with Miri. They did a great job."

"We had to sub in other players, so also adjusting to the game management aspect as we're seeing out the game. Players that are coming into the game where they're likely to perform well in those final stages, we'll need to be on board with how we're going to manage that."

On Claire Emslie:

"It's been a very quick process of her arriving in Los Angeles and being available to the club. She had very little time to be with our group, but it was a great reception for her and the team is happy to have her here. We're looking forward to more things to come when we are able to put in some work on the training field and have her properly integrated."

On what to improve on:

"We failed to stop them switching in a pocket right in front of our bench on the inside, which needs to be contained. We also need to manage the game, if it's a tactical foul we need to execute that and not allow them to switch the point of attack. We certainly need to do better containing the final ball."

"It starts in our final third and then progresses. We need to put pressure on the ball and defend their wide players and stop the cross from coming in."

ACFC Defender Ali Riley

On California Rivalry with San Diego Wave FC:

"It reminded me of our first home game because it wasn't just about the soccer competition. It was about making history at The Banc again. I thought all day about how incredible it is to not just have one team in Southern California, but to now have two. We haven't had that before and it's not something I was able to see when I was growing up."

"I think this rivalry will set new standards and push the league further. We've been setting the bar and now I think we're showing that there's an audience and a market for this. Invest in us. I look at all the people who care about women's soccer, not just in Southern California, but I'm pretty happy that it happened here and we got the win tonight."

On crowd atmosphere and being LA's newest tem:

"Today, for me, was about a celebration of how far we've come. That's what I said in the huddle before the game and I think that took a lot of the pressure off because we want to make this city proud. We want to be able to compete with the other incredible professional teams in Los Angeles. This is an amazing celebration of the progress we've made in this country with women's soccer and with women's sports."

On growth of the team:

We want to make progress every game. We want to grow every game. We're looking at small steps and not looking too far ahead. Obviously we've made it known we want to make the playoffs. We're starting to show the depth of the team and how we can be more disciplined when we need to secure the win."

ACFC Team President and Co-Founder Julie Uhrman

On what to continue to expect from the team:

"Angel City is the place to be. You saw tonight that these players are absolutely incredible. They fight with heart. They fight with grit. They are a family and they will grind it out until we get those three points led incredibly well by Freya."

"I mean this is an expansion team that's coming together. These players haven't played together [that long]. These coaches haven't coached together and for Freya to find a way day in and day out to improve and then show it on the pitch tonight with three points was incredible."

On tonight's win:

"This was a really big night. This was an incredibly big game. It's amazing to see so much press here and I think that's what you're talking about. We are trying to make a difference on the pitch and off the pitch. We're trying to show that women's sports deserve the attention that these women got tonight."

On the sellout:

"Twenty-two thousand fans isn't an anomaly. This isn't the first time we've done this. This is now the second time we've done this and now I guarantee you my team is going back to the office and saying okay, 'How do we do it for a third time?' because the players deserve this attention."

"The fans have supported this team in a way that feels completely unrivaled in women's sports, and it's something that any other team can do. I have such incredible appreciation for San Diego. Jill is an incredible leader in the front office. Casey Stoney has been incredible on the pitch. They have built something phenomenal."

"I think what you're starting to see is us women believing in our power and our strength and saying enough is enough. We deserve the attention. We deserve the rewards and you see it on the pitch with these players that will never give up until we get those three points."

Check out the Angel City FC Statistics



National Women's Soccer League Stories from July 10, 2022


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