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NWSL Angel City FC

Angel City Football Club Hires Melissa Phillips of the London City Lionesses as First Assistant Coach

January 23, 2023 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release


LOS ANGELES - Angel City Football Club (ACFC) today announced the hiring of Melissa Phillips from London City Lionesses (LCL) of the Barclay's Women's Championship, as the club's new First Assistant Coach.

"We are thrilled to have Melissa join our technical staff," said ACFC Head Coach Freya Coombe. "The experience she brings from her time as Head Coach of LCL is invaluable and her resume speaks for itself. I have admired the achievements of LCL since the club's founding and look forward to working with Melissa to build upon what we at ACFC were able to achieve on the field in year one."

Phillips arrived in London the day before the UK went into lockdown and joined LCL as Assistant Coach. She was appointed LCL Head Coach in October 2020 and was integral to their growth and success. London City is now sitting at the top of the table going into the second half of the season. Phillips completed the UEFA A Coaching License whilst with London City and she also holds the USSF A Senior License.

"We see this as the beginning of an exciting relationship between the two clubs who share very similar vision and values," says LCL Chairwoman and Founder Diane Culligan. "Melissa has done a fantastic job for London City Lionesses over the last 2.5 years, especially in leading the development of the on-field product. We appreciate that she has been presented with an amazing opportunity to return to her home in California and evolve her career with ACFC. We believe that, rather than this being the end of LCL's fantastic relationship with Melissa, this represents an opportunity for her to be the bridge between two pioneering pillars of women's football on either side of the Atlantic.

"We take the responsibility in shaping the growth of women's football very seriously and we're pleased that Melissa is going to a club with similar ambitions on the world stage," continued Culligan. "Football has a fantastic way of shaping human behaviour, driving positive societal and cultural change."

The clubs came together to mutually agree on her departure that occurs during the Barclay's Women's Championship league's transfer window and will ensure that Phillips will be available to ACFC in time for their 2023 preseason.

"We are hyper-focused on the on-field product as we enter our sophomore season and we believe Melissa will immediately make a positive impact," said ACFC President and Co-Founder Julie Uhrman. "Her style and experience leading LCL, as well as her experience as a coach in the U.S., are the perfect combination to help us continue to build out the elite coaching and training environment that we are committed to for our incredible players."

Prior to her time in England, she spent 10 years at the collegiate level, coaching a successful Ivy League Championship team at the University of Pennsylvania. While at Penn, Phillips helped lead the defensive unit to finish first in the nation for goals against average, first in clean sheet percentage, and first in save percentage, whilst finishing top 25 nationally for each category over a five-year span.

Phillips had stints at the University of San Francisco (Assistant Head Coach) and Cal State Bakersfield (Head Coach) where she held responsibilities in team culture and recruitment. Phillips holds a Bachelor's degree in Health and Wellness from Cal State Stanislaus and a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from Cal State Bakersfield. She is also a certified DISC Profile Behavior consultant. She hails from the Bay Area and enjoys hiking and cooking.

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