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NWSL Angel City FC

Angel City Football Club Notches Win Over Racing Louisville FC at Juneteenth Celebration Match

June 20, 2024 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release


LOS ANGELES - Angel City Football Club (ACFC) beat Racing Louisville 3-2 at home tonight following first-half goals by midfielders Kennedy Fuller and Rocky Rodríguez, and a late winner by forward Sydney Leroux. Louisville's goals were scored by midfielder Taylor Flint and defender Carson Pickett.

Angel City had the first good chance of the game in the eighth minute when Fuller sent in a cross from the right that fell to Leroux at the edge of the six-yard box. Leroux got her head on the ball, but sent it back across the face of goal and wide of the near post.

After dominating possession throughout the early part of the game, the hosts opened the scoring in the 17th minute. Defender Madison Curry played a pinpoint through ball under the feet of the Louisville defense and into the six-yard box for Fuller, who one-timed it into the back of the net. It was Fuller's first professional goal and Curry's first professional assist.

In the 26th minute, Racing midfielder Savannah DeMelo made an interception in ACFC's defensive third and quickly fired off a shot, but her attempt went wide.

The hosts doubled their lead in the 32nd minute following a free kick from high on the left wing by defender Merritt Mathias. The league veteran served the ball to the edge of the six-yard box, where Rodríguez settled the ball and unleashed a left-footed strike that sailed past goalkeeper Katie Lund.

Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haračić made a key save in the 34th minute, diving left to narrowly stop another shot by DeMelo from 20 yards.

In the 41st minute, Louisville pulled one back on a penalty kick. After ACFC defender Megan Reid was given a caution card for a foul in the box, midfielder Taylor Flint stepped up to the spot and sent her attempt past Haračić to bring the score to 2-1.

Racing came out swinging after the break, earning a flurry of chances in the early minutes of the half that culminated in a near miss in the 54th minute by forward Elexa Bahr. The visitors continued to keep Angel City pinned into their defensive third, finally breaking through with an equalizer in the 64th minute. Forward Emma Sears sent a cross from the left into the 18 yard box, where defender Carson Pickett settled the ball and sent it into the back of the net.

Angel City kept pushing for the goal, with defender Jasmyne Spencer coming close in the 69th minute following a corner kick that Racing failed to clear from the box.

The winner came in the 85th minute when Thompson threaded an impressive one-touch through ball in for Leroux, who took a touch to burst into the 18 and placed a driven shot inside the far post and past a diving Lund. That goal was Leroux's 45th career goal, tying her with Kansas City midfielder Debinha for ninth-most all-time in the NWSL.

ACFC plays again this Saturday on the road at Bay FC at 7:00 p.m. PT. That game will be broadcast on ION, with an English-language radio broadcast on iHeart.

ACFC Milestones

Rookie midfielder Kennedy Fuller earned her first career NWSL regular season goal in the 17'. At age 17, Fuller is the 3rd-youngest player to score a regular season goal behind Alex Pfeiffer and Olivia Moultrie.

Rookie defender Madison Curry earned her first career NWSL regular season assist in the 17' with a pass to Fuller.

Midfielder Rocky Rodriguez earned her first ACFC goal, 14th career NWSL regular season goal.

Forward Sydney Leroux earned her 45th career NWSL regular season goal, making her tied for 9th all-time with Debinha on the scoring list. She now has 15 game winning career goals.

Forward Alyssa Thompson earned her fifth assist this season. Thompson has tied the club record with her 7th career assist, even with Claire Emslie now. Thompson also tied Emslie's club record, set last year, for single season assists with her 5th of 2024.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

ACFC Forward Sydney Leroux

On scoring the game winning goal and her 45th career goal during the club's Juneteenth Celebration:

"It's poetic. Juneteenth. I got the game winner. It's amazing, I'm so happy to be here and still help my team in any way that I can."

On the counter attack and their efforts in the second half:

"We've struggled to get the ball in the back of the net. Our first thought was, let's go forward and let's try to make it as difficult as possible. We have the players to do it. We were able to do that today and you saw a different Angel City team, even against Houston. It was 113 minutes of really hard work."

"Then we come here a couple of days later with barely any rest and we did what we did tonight and I'm just so proud of us. I'm so proud of Kennedy. It's amazing and everyone remembers what happened last year, so hopefully we can move on from this and keep going."

Overall thoughts on the Juneteenth Celebration and the crowd tonight at BMO Stadium:

"The crowd at Angel City is always amazing. Today for a Wednesday game on Juneteenth, we were so proud. I'm so proud to be Black and to play for this team. To be able to be celebrated today was amazing."

On a message for the LGBTQ+ young people:

"We're so happy to be able to provide a safe space for everyone, especially at Angel City. We do the best we can to be allies. I know there's so much more to learn, but I'm so grateful that we have such an amazing group of women to bring everyone in and make everyone feel valued and loved here."

ACFC Midfielder Kennedy Fuller

On her first career NWSL goal:

"I saw the ball from Madi [Curry] and we really have been working on that connection. That ball was perfectly placed and then I don't really remember anything after just lots of hugs and celebrations. This is what I've personally been looking for and as a team it was good to get us started that early and then that set the second goal as well. It was amazing."

On the club scoring three goals tonight:

"Our biggest thing has been quality. That's something that we really focused on. Our pregame talk was - we're going to be quality in front of goal. We're going to put our body on the line in front and behind the ball. That's something that we did really well and played well for each other this game."

On pre-game advice from Head Coach Becki Tweed after being selected for Starting XI:

"It was mainly to be myself. If I'm myself everyone is going to push me to be myself. That's something that my team has been good at. Again, there's no goal without the passes, saves and the tackles, that kind of goes unnoticed. Overall, my team is what helps me get there."

ACFC Head Coach Becki Tweed

Overall thoughts on the match:

"It was a hard-fought win. We never make it easy for ourselves. We were brilliant in the first half. To go up two-nil, we played really good football, but we let the penalty decision take control of the game for us. It's something we've been working on, and I'm proud of the whole group. To come away with three points here is massive."

On Sydney Leroux's game-winning goal:

"It's so fitting that Sydney [Leroux] scored the game winning goal. For two games she's left everything she possibly has on the field."

On Kennedy Fuller's performance:

"We knew we had a lot of minutes to go around this week. Kennedy [Fuller] and Clarisse [Le Bihan] both as tens are very similar players with their own twist on the game. Kennedy is so reliable whether she comes off the bench, starts, or doesn't play, she's the same person. She shows up every day and gives everything she has."

On the club's celebration of Juneteenth and inspiring young athletes:

"If you can see it, you can be it. These nights are huge. Every woman and all of the people around the world. These moments are special for everyone. We're really proud as a club to be at the forefront of all the movements."

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