NWSL Angel City FC

Angel City Football Club Draws NJ/NY Gotham on the Road

July 2, 2023 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release


HARRISON, NJ - Angel City Football Club drew NJ/NY Gotham FC 0-0 today in a back-and-forth match played in high heat and humidity. The game was the team's second shutout in a row.

The game got off to a slow start, with Angel City seeing the lion's share of possession early on, but having little luck going forward. The game started to open up around the 20th minute, with Gotham getting the first real chance in the 25th minute. Defender Jenna Nighswonger intercepted a short diagonal pass by goalkeeper DiDi Haračić and passed to forward Delanie Sheehan in the box, who sent her shot straight to Haračić.

In the 28th minute, Angel City had a chance of their own when defender Megan Reid hoofed a long ball over the top for midfielder Savannah McCaskill as she made a run. McCaskill sprinted into the box and took a shot, which deflected off goalkeeper Abby Smith to the feet of ACFC forward Jasmyne Spencer. Spencer made her own attempt, but Nighswonger blocked the shot out for a corner kick.

One minute later, Gotham answered with a shot by forward Yazmeen Ryan, who ran up the left wing onto a through ball by Sheehan. Ryan cut inside into the box and shot from a sharp angle, but Haračić blocked it.

In first-half stoppage, Nighswonger scooped up a headed ball from Angel City defender Madison Hammond, did a quick one-two with midfielder McCall Zerboni to beat her mark, and shot with her left foot from inside the 18- but Haračić did well to jump and tip the ball over the bar.

The second half had a different tenor, with a quicker pace and more action in and around both 18s.

Angel City had a near miss in the 58th minute when forward Scarlett Camberos sent a through ball to McCaskill as she made an overlapping run. McCaskill dribbled into the box and passed sideways back to Camberos, whose shot was blocked by Gotham defender Ali Krieger.

Gotham forward Midge Purce, who subbed in after the break, was dangerous throughout the half. One chance in the 66th minute saw Zerboni pass up the right wing to Purce, who beat Nielsen, dribbled into the box, and shot at the near post, where Haračić made another good save.

ACFC's best chance of the game came in the 82nd minute, when forward Clarisse Le Bihan sent a through ball to forward Claire Emslie, who carried it into the penalty area and nearly got one on one with Smith. Ryan sprinted back to defend and got there just in time to make a sliding block of Emslie's shot.

In second-half stoppage time, Sheehan served a ball into the 18 for Nighswonger, who headed it just wide of the far post.

Today's match marked the return of Gotham midfielder Mana Shim, who had not played a professional match since 2019. Shim was one of two players (the other being her Gotham teammate, Sinead Farrelly) who came forward in 2021 to tell the story of abuse by a former coach against her and Farrelly. The two players' stories prompted a wave of additional revelations and ultimately reforms that made the league a safer place.

Angel City plays next at home on Sunday, July 9 at 5:00 p.m. against the North Carolina Courage. That game will be broadcast locally on Bally SoCal and will stream on Paramount+.

GAME NOTES:

Savannah McCaskill appeared in her 100th career NWSL regular season match.

DiDi Haračić earned her second consecutive clean sheet tonight following last Sunday's match against Houston.

Becki Tweed remains undefeated in all competitions since becoming Interim Head Coach (1-0-3).

UNITY FOR EQUITY WITH PARTNER JOHNNIE WALKER

During pre-game warm-ups, ACFC and Gotham players sported designs by celebrated illustrator, Monica Ahanonu, who was in attendance alongside Johnnie Walker brand partner and the world's most beloved soccer boss, Hannah Waddingham.

The design served as a wearable message of the one team approach needed to achieve gender equity. Together the duo posed with Angel City FC and Gotham FC in their warm-up tops and a banner that read "Watch Women's Sports." Photos HERE.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

ACFC Goalkeeper, DiDi Haračić

Thoughts on tonight's performance:

"I don't think we were our best tonight. To get a point on the road in this humidity was important for us. Also, this was another stepping stone for us leading into next weekend."

On what the team has done defensively:

"We're just starting to understand each other more. In training, we're having a consistent back line. There's not a lot of movement and there's been more of a bite at training. We're not conceding much and to get another shut out, I'm going to applaud my team for that as well."

On returning to Red Bull Arena to face her former team:

"I love it. It's another part of home. I always say it's like my third home, with California being my first now. It has a special place in my heart. They've always been supportive even though the fans gave me a little crap today, but it's okay."

"This is where my career started and I got opportunities here that have now given me the path to LA, and I'll always be thankful for this place."

On her individual performance tonight:

"I'm happy with mine. Any day to get a clean sheet is always a good day. I had moments and showed up in those moments. As for the team, my front four also had moments and showed up. We've made it clear, here's our structure defensively. It's shown in the past, two to three games."

ACFC Interim Head Coach Becki Tweed

On Claire Emslie and Jun Endo returning today:

"Good to get them back on the field and get some minutes. They brought some energy and excitement. We struggled to keep the ball and they brought some dynamicness into the attacking third for us."

"We created a couple of chances once they came on with fresh legs. There's no excuses but we looked like we played Wednesday. We looked like we traveled across the country and needed to not use excuses for it. We need to grow and be better."

On current assessment of the team:

"Today we're disappointed. We weren't good enough. We will all hold our hands up and say that we could be better and we'll move forward from it. The best thing for us is we weren't good enough, but we were able to keep a clean sheet."

"We were able to get a point out of the game on the road and those are huge positives. We can keep momentum rolling, but we know we can be better as a group in every area. That's something that we'll sit down and look at this week. The players need a couple of days to freshen up a little bit and we'll get better next week."

Her outlook on the team's path to the playoffs:

"We need to be ruthless in the final third. Even though we won, we didn't have the best performance. We still created chances and one goal was going to win this game either way. We had opportunities to win it, no matter how they come, you have to make sure you take advantage of them. You may have to graft out a point, or three points, and that's why we need to continue to push forward."

"The opportunities that you're given you need to take and that's ultimately what separates teams in this league. You can see it top to bottom one through 12. Anyone can beat anyone and you have to be ruthless and take what you're given."

On Goalkeeper DiDi Haračić's performance:

"She was brilliant tonight. We've spoken about allowing DiDi to make saves. Her job is to make saves and she did that. There were a couple of world class saves that she made tonight. Those are the moments that we got to look at both ends. You have to be brilliant in both boxes to win games and she was brilliant."

"In the big moments, we defended really well outside of that, in and around our box. DiDi came up big for us tonight and it's a squad game, where everybody has their moments."

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