Angel City Football Club Earns Second Consecutive Summer Cup Victory in Shutout Over NorCal Rival Bay FC

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NWSL Angel City FC

Angel City Football Club Earns Second Consecutive Summer Cup Victory in Shutout Over NorCal Rival Bay FC

July 27, 2024 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release


SAN JOSE - Angel City beat Bay FC 2-0 on the road tonight following a goal by forward Claire Emslie and a Bay own goal forced by defender Megan Reid. The win put ACFC in first place in Group B in the Summer Cup heading into the final group-stage game of the tournament.

After some back-and-forth over the first 15 or so minutes- including a third-minute attempt by Bay forward Rachel Hill that goalkeeper Angelina Anderson stopped- ACFC gained control of the match and dominated possession for the remainder of the half.

ACFC had their first look of the night in the fifth minute, when forward Claire Emslie sent a long ball into the box for forward Alyssa Thompson. Thompson held up play long enough to tap the ball to defender Jasmyne Spencer as she arrived in the box, but Spencer's shot was high.

Angel City opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Defender Megan Reid got her foot on a ball that Emslie floated in behind Bay's back line on a free kick. The ball pinged off the inside of the post, collided with midfielder Dorian Bailey as she attempted a clearance off the line, and rolled into the goal.

In the 25th minute, Bay had what would be their last chance until close to the end of the half. Bailey won the ball and sent a forward pass to midfielder Caroline Conti, who took it to the edge of the 18 and fired off a hard shot, which Anderson saved.

Emslie had a look in the 29th minute following a buildup that moved through four players, starting with a ball in from the wing by Spencer to midfielder Kennedy Fuller at the edge of the box. Fuller sent a pass sideways to forward Messiah Bright, who had her back to goal and tapped it back to the onrushing Emslie- but the Scottish international's shot was wide.

Angel City had a pair of chances in the 37th and 38th minutes, first when Thompson ran onto a lofted ball into the box by Emslie and sent an angled shot wide of the far post, then with defender M.A. Vignola sending an inside-the-box attempt high after a service from midfielder Meggie Dougherty-Howard.

Bay had their final chance before the break in stoppage time when a corner kick fell to midfielder Maya Doms, who hit a looping header into the crossbar and out.

ACFC started the second half swinging with a 46th-minute play that saw Emslie collide with Rowland inside the six-yard box as the latter went to ground to claim a cross by Spencer.

Emslie made good on her next look, in the 54th minute. After taking the ball endline on the left side, Thompson cut back and split two defenders with a short pass to Bright. The Texas native tapped the ball laterally to Emslie, who nutmegged defender Savy King as she sent a shot into the back of the net to double ACFC's lead. The goal marked Bright's first assist in an Angel City jersey.

The game opened up as both teams started to make substitutions in the last 30 minutes, with Bay succeeding in controlling more of the ball and threatening on goal repeatedly. In the 64th minute, Bay forward Princess beat her mark to send a low cross into the six-yard box, which defender Madison Curry cleared; she set up a chance for Bailey in the 73rd minute, which deflected off Reid's leg before being caught by Anderson.

The Ghanaian international made her own attempt in the 77th minute from close to point-blank range at the near post, but Anderson blocked it out for a corner.

The last 10 minutes of the game saw few real chances for both sides, and after four minutes of stoppage time, Angel City closed out the match with the clean sheet intact.

This game saw the professional debut of forward Casey Phair, who subbed in for Bright in the 66th minute.

Angel City wraps up the group stage of the Summer Cup Thursday, August 1 at 7:00 p.m. against San Diego Wave FC. That match will take place at Titan Stadium at Cal State Fullerton.

ACFC PLAYER MILESTONES

Forward Messiah Bright earned her first career NWSL assist in all competitions.

Rookie forward Casey Phair made her professional and NWSL debut. She is the youngest player in ACFC history to appear in a match for the club.

Forward Claire Emslie has earned her seventh goal in all competitions for ACFC so far in 2024.

Goalkeeper Angelina Anderson earned her second career NWSL clean sheet in all competitions in tonight's shutout.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

ACFC Forward Messiah Bright

On the team's confidence after winning their second consecutive match:

"It's doing a lot for us. It's allowing us to build that chemistry with each other. Our main motto, especially for today's efforts playing in the game, was to have fun and be in the moment. That's one thing that's separating us and keeping us apart from everyone else that we compete with."

On earning her first career assist:

"It feels awesome. I didn't even realize that was my first one, so it's pretty awesome to soak that in and celebrate it. I'm just happy to contribute to the team."

"I saw Claire cutting in and my main thing that I wanted to do was just post up and be within the width of the goal. I was trying to see if I could turn and get a shot off, but that wasn't on. I saw Claire on the side and I laid it off to her and she does what she does best with finishing it. That was pretty fun."

On Casey Phair making her pro debut:

"Super excited for her. Her and I work hand in hand and I'm super proud of her. Just seeing her being in that moment and getting some time on the field with her debut. It's just going to continue to boost her confidence."

"I asked her how she felt after the game and she said she was super excited just to be out there. Me being a leader, I'm just trying to be the best leader that I can be for her and cheer her on in those moments, and that's something that I was really proud to do."

ACFC Forward Casey Phair

On the game overall:

"It was a really fun game. We got the result that we wanted, and the big takeaway from this game is that we really played together, which is what we've been talking about for a while now. I'm really happy to have gotten the result and obviously to debut. It was just a really fun game and a really fun environment."

On making her pro debut:

"It was surreal. I feel like I've worked so hard since I've gotten here and I don't think I've had to work so hard in my life. To have that pay off now today was just really great. I'm very proud."

ACFC Head Coach Becki Tweed

On the club's success in the Summer Tournament so far:

"Back to back wins are hard to get in this league. We created enough opportunities to win the game comfortably. We have to be happy, embrace the win, and enjoy it. We need to ride the momentum."

"We have to take the positives away from this. Clean sheet, three points on the road, and now we continue to grow."

On the debut of Casey Phair:

"I said to her before she went on that she had to remember the moment, because you only get one professional debut. She was excited, and she worked hard for it. I said all along that she was going to earn it, and she did."

"Your first game is always the one to get your nerves out of your system. To be able to get her on for about 30 minutes, at the age of 17, is the first step in the right direction for her. She's been working incredibly hard in training. The team was excited for her coming onto the field, and it was a big highlight of tonight. I was excited to see her get this opportunity."

On achieving the goal of getting three points tonight:

"You almost have to focus on yourselves. We came here knowing that three points was what we wanted and a win was what we wanted. A clean sheet was what we wanted and we were able to achieve all those things."

"They looked a little different with a couple of players missing for them, same for us. It was a good look at some players to get some minutes, some time and some different faces which I think is really important about this Cup. We're starting to build relationships and continuing to grow players relationships on the field. It was a really positive result overall, we are just staying focused on us as much as possible."

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