Angel City Football Club Falls to Chicago Stars on the Road in Final Match of the 2025 NWSL Season
NWSL Angel City FC

Angel City Football Club Falls to Chicago Stars on the Road in Final Match of the 2025 NWSL Season

Published on November 2, 2025 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release


LOS ANGELES - Angel City Football Club (ACFC) lost the final match of the 2025 NWSL Season 2-1 today on the road in Chicago, following a goal by defender Miyabi Moriya. Midfielder Jameese Joseph and forward Ally Schlegel scored for Chicago.

Angel City opened the scoring in the 23rd minute after defender Gisele Thompson dribbled into the box from the right wing and passed back to midfielder Hina Sugita. Sugita then found midfielder Nealy Martin on the right edge of the 18, and she crossed to the far side of the six-yard box, where defender Miyabi was lurking and found the back of the net to bring the score to 1-0.

Thompson had a shot of her own in the 27th minute when forward Maiara Niehues found her with a field-switching pass in Angel City's attacking third. Thompson dribbled into the box and went for the far post, but goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher dove to block her attempt.

Chicago started the second half with a 47th-minute chance by midfielder Ally Schlegel, who got her head on a ball from midfielder Jameese Joseph near the six-yard line, sending it just high.

In the 49th minute, Joseph equalized for Chicago. Starting in midfield, Joseph drove forward and completed a one-two pass with forward Nadia Gomes, receiving the ball from Gomes inside the 18 and firing off a right-footed shot that beat goalkeeper Angelina Anderson to level the score.

ACFC had another look in the 65th minute when Sugita, forward Christen Press, and forward Riley Tiernan all put pressure on Chicago's back line as they made a few lackadaisical passes inside their own penalty area. Press forced the turnover, which landed with Tiernan, but the rookie sent her shot high.

Press also had a chance in the 82nd minute. Forward Prisca Chilufya played a well-weighted pass into the path of Press's run, and she dribbled into the box to put a right-footed shot on target- but Naeher did well to save.

Anderson had a clutch save in the 86th minute after forward Ludmila made a run up the right and sent a diagonal ball back to the edge of the penalty area for defender Natalia Kuikka, who put a powerful shot on target. Anderson got a hand on the ball, tipping it into the crossbar; midfielder Manaka Hayashi got her head on the rebound, but it went over the bar.

Schlegel scored the winner for the Stars in the 98th minute when Joseph served a forward pass into the six-yard box. Schlegel made an initial strike, which Anderson blocked; the rebounded ball hit her torso and landed in the back of the net to bring the final score to 2-1.

This game marked the last professional game for Angel City forward Christen Press and defender Ali Riley.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

ACFC Forward Christen Press

On her final match:

"I am full of gratitude. It has been a long journey. I have played all over the world and all over this country. I have represented my country for a really long time, and I feel very connected to all of the different people that support this game. I know I will stay connected in new ways, but this is definitely the last time that I will be able to play in front of this community we have built, and it is really meaningful to me."

ACFC Midfielder Nealy Martin

On what she is looking forward to for the next season:

"It's really exciting what Alex [Straus] is building here; you can see moments of it on the field. We want to be more clinical, and we want to be better defensively. There are a lot of things to work on, which is exciting because we haven't had a preseason with this group. There were a lot of moving parts this year, but I'm super excited for next year and what we're going to build."

ACFC Head Coach, Alex Straus

On the off-season plans and what to expect:

"We need to change a lot of things, and we need to do it in the offseason because we will not look like this for one more year. I don't think anybody within our organization wants that, and that's not why I came here. I know what I'm used to, I know what I want, and I want to bring this fantastic club to where they need to be, and that's why I'm here."

"We're gonna get the right people on the bus and in the right seats, and it starts in January. For me, it's refreshing. I feel like that is the main start for me, where I can do the things that I'm planning to do because I came mid-season. We need stability, and we need to make the changes that need to be made and create a group that's going to be here for many years. We can build them and go where we want to. That process starts now. We don't like to be in this situation, and we cannot accept it as a group."

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