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NWSL Angel City FC

Angel City Football Club Leaves Houston with a Point in Gritty 0-0 Draw

June 16, 2024 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release


HOUSTON - Angel City Football Club (ACFC) drew 0-0 on the road tonight in Houston in what was the team's third shutout of the season.

The first real chance of the game came in the eighth minute, when Houston defender Courtney Petersen sent a cross from the left into the box for midfielder Sarah Puntigam, who sent her shot just wide of the right post.

Play was largely concentrated in the midfield over the next 20 minutes or so; in the 26th minute, Dash defender Tarciane, midfielder Ramona Bachmann, and midfielder Bárbara Olivieri connected three quick long passes up the right wing to find forward Michelle Alozie in the box, but she sent her shot into the outside of the side netting. Two minutes later, Angel City had their best chance to that point when midfielder Clarisse Le Bihan played a lateral ball from the penalty arc into forward Alyssa Thompson's run; the winger dribbled into the box and put her angled shot on frame, but goalkeeper Jane Campbell made the save.

ACFC followed that chance up with one in the 34th minute, which saw Thompson drive up the wing, cut inside across the edge of the penalty area, and find forward Claire Emslie with a short sideways pass, but Campbell again saved Emslie's low, driven shot.

In the 54th minute, Tarciane handled the ball while attempting to block defender Gisele Thompson's cross, and the center official pointed to the penalty spot. Emslie stepped up to take the attempt- and was once more foiled by Campbell.

In the 70th minute, Olivieri ran onto a short sideways pass inside the box and had a crack, which looked to be on target, but Angel City midfielder Madison Hammond blocked the ball almost the moment it left Olivieri's foot.

The hosts followed that attempt up with another in the 75th minute that saw forward Diana Ordoñez dribble up the right wing and send a cross into the box. ACFC defender Madison Curry blocked the cross, and the ball fell to Olivieri, whose follow-up attempt from just inside the box went high.

Angel City had a handful of late chances, starting in the 88th and 89th minutes. The first of that pair of looks started when defender Jasmyne Spencer nutmegged Dash defender Paige Nielsen to find Thompson in the box. Thompson beat her mark, defender Natalie Jacobs, to get a close-range shot off, but Jacobs recovered just in time to block the shot with her foot.

On the corner kick resulting from that play, Angel City defender M.A. Vignola put a headed attempt on frame, but Campbell once again came up big, making a backwards dive to block the shot one-handed.

In the 13th minute of second-half stoppage time- the very last play of the game- Angel City forward Messiah Bright headed a corner kick by defender Merritt Mathias on target from close range, the shot initially hitting Campbell in the chest and bouncing to the ground. Bright's right-footed follow-up looked as if it may have crossed the goal line, but upon VAR review, the officials ruled that the attempt was not a goal, and the final whistle blew shortly thereafter.

Angel City is at home this Wednesday, June 19, at 7:00 p.m. PT against Racing Louisville FC. The game, which will be the club's Juneteenth celebration, will be broadcast locally on Bally Sports SoCal and nationally on CBS Sports Network, with an English-language radio broadcast on iHeart.

ACFC Milestones

Defender Jasmyne Spencer reached the milestone of 10,000 career NWSL regular season minutes. She has become the 50th player in NWSL history to reach 10,000 minutes.

Goalkeeper DiDi Haračić earned her 12th career NWSL regular season clean sheet, third clean sheet of the 2024 NWSL regular season.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

ACFC Defender Jasmyne Spencer

Overall thoughts on the match:

"It was one of our most cohesive performances of the season. Unfortunately, a little bit of a common theme in terms of putting our chances away. If one goes in early in the first half, it's a much different game in our favor and may be a little bit more comfortable ending for us. All in all, point on the road, clean sheet on the road, and good momentum going forward."

On reaching the milestone of 10,000 career minutes played:

"I don't really even think I take the time to appreciate milestones like that, so when I hear them at the end of games from you all, it's a really nice moment. I get caught up in just continuing to compete every day and pushing for results on behalf of the team."

"I guess later today after I decompress, I'll celebrate it. Overall, it's incredible and hopefully, I've got many more to come."

On the growth of their defensive efforts:

"There was a mentality going into this game that we were going to stay unified top to bottom and everyone was going to fight for one another and that really showed in the game, and definitely in the clean sheet that we got to walk away with."

ACFC Defender M.A. Vignola

On how the team can gain momentum:

"We were talking about this a lot this past week. It's been a little bit of a rocky start for us, but around this time last year is when we were able to get the group together as a collective and start to actually put our chances away."

On how a couple of goals can cause a big momentum shift:

"Once you get one and two, two and three, that's when the momentum shift really does change because it gives you and everyone on the team that confidence that we can do this. Once that first one goes in, it is going to be one after another. We just have to keep it consistent and keep working each day."

On short preparation for upcoming match on Wednesday:

"It's a busy week. We talked about it at the end of the game. It's really important to get home and get the rest that we need. We have that day to kind of recover and we're in [training] the next day."

"We need to take exactly what we did in this game and bring it into the next game. Energy, collective togetherness. All those things are going to be really important, but taking care of our bodies is going to be the biggest thing."

"A three-game week is tough, but it takes grittiness and our team definitely has that grittiness and that want to win. It's really going to show in this next game."

ACFC Head Coach Becki Tweed

Thoughts on the match:

"I don't really know where to start. It's a bit of a strange one. I think we've created enough chances to win the game. It's the second week in a row that the opposition goalkeeper has got Player of the Match. That's progress for us, but not where we want to be."

"We have to take responsibility for taking our opportunities and our chances. At 75 minutes, I looked around and [I knew] we had to really dig deep for that heart, desire, that grit and that's something that [makes me] really proud of the group."

"Houston is a hard place to play. It's hot and we had to dig really deep and we had to go toa place we haven't really been to mentally yet. I have to credit all the players for dragging."

On the amount of extra time:

"We are basically playing a game and a half every game. That is something we have to adapt to and everybody has to do it. This is a game where I want to walk away with three points. We were the better team, had better chances, played better football, but you don't win games on stats unfortunately."

On Gisele Thompson's performance:

"She's obviously a huge attacking threat. She's so dynamic. She's able to dribble, she never gets stuck on the sideline as such. She can play off both feet, she can cut inside.; now for her, it's just continuing to get minutes under her belt as a pro."

"Remember that she's still 18, getting better and better every game. Now that final product piece that is really going to help us is getting her into the box a little bit more, creating more opportunities and getting her in behind the back line. Her growth over the first few games that she's been in this season has been huge."

On how the team can continue to be motivated heading into two more games this week:

"I'm just focused on the team, how we can move forward and how we can use it as motivation, but also move into a midweek game and shift our focus to continue keeping clean sheets and continue to create chances."

"And again, what you saw from the team tonight was that grit, that determination, that heart, that desire. Players making tackles, like Syd [Leroux], who was playing left back in the last five minutes. She was making tackles and going to the ground."

"We can talk about Madi Curry's performance. She was exceptional, absolutely exceptional. She put her body on the line, her heart, her soul, her desire for a clean sheet. Other performances on top of that from players. That's something that we've been missing. I'm really pleased to see the team drag each other through. We'll take it and move forward."

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