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NWSL Angel City FC

Angel City Football Club Suffers First Road Match Loss of the Season

May 27, 2023 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release


SEATTLE - Angel City fell 1-4 on the road against OL Reign today, with forward Claire Emslie scoring the team's lone goal.

The visitors had the better of the game early on, dominating possession and largely keeping the Reign confined to their defensive half over the first 10 minutes, but the momentum shifted as the game wore on. In the 10th minute, the Reign had the first real chance of the game when forward Megan Rapinoe quickly restarted after a foul and sent the ball up the wing to forward Bethany Balcer. Balcer sent a cross into the six-yard box, where forward Veronica Latsko got her head to the ball and sent it wide.

OL had a few more scoring opportunities over the next 10 minutes, including one in the 13th minute where ACFC keeper DiDi Haračić came off her line and dove on top of a recycled free kick before Latsko could get on the end of it.

Angel City opened the scoring in the 27th minute in improbable style with an olimpico by Emslie, where the Scotland international curled a corner kick from the right inside the near post for a goal. Keeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce got a hand to the ball, but it deflected off her and into the back of the net (it was not ruled an own goal because the ball was judged to be on a trajectory to cross the goal line before Tullis-Joyce touched it).

It wasn't long before the Reign equalized. In the 34th minute, Rapinoe whipped a cross into the six-yard box for forward Elyse Bennett. Bennett muscled her way between the two center backs and finished from point-blank range.

Haračić had another clutch save in the 39th minute when Balcer tried a ball over the top that defender Jasmyne Spencer initially blocked. Bennett pounced on the deflected ball, drove into the box, and shot from close range, but Haračić got there in time to make the save.

In the second half, the game shifted decisively in the Reign's favor. OL doubled their lead in the 53rd minute with a hard strike by Latsko from near the penalty arc. Her shot flew just under the crossbar, giving Haračić little chance of stopping it.

The home team notched a third in the 55th minute on another Rapinoe cross, this time connecting with Latsko, who one-timed the low ball past Haračić.

Midfielder Quinn notched Seattle's fourth and final goal with another strike from distance, this one from the left-hand corner of the 18.

Angel City plays next in a Challenge Cup game this Wednesday, May 31 at 7:30 p.m. in Portland. The game will stream live on Paramount+.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

ACFC Defender Ali Riley

Overall thoughts on the match:

"We had a sound game plan. We came out connecting passes, had some momentum and chances, which led to us scoring. That's how we wanted to play and that's what we talked about. When they got the free kick and a chance, that's when the momentum swayed. We have to be able to dig deep and find a way to gain momentum back."

"As a philosophy, if you make a mistake because you were doing what you set out to do, you will never be criticized but the effort just went down and the mentality was weak from us. We can't point fingers at anyone or the game plan. We have to look at ourselves."

"We saw with Racing Louisville FC with 30 minutes to go, that we have the players on this team to win a game even though we are down. We have the players to come back and score to tie the game. Today we got in our own heads and the fire wasn't in our eyes."

On the quick turnaround with having to play Portland on Wednesday:

"I'm thrilled that we have a game on Wednesday. It's a chance for us to show what our identity really is and what we stand for. When it comes to effort and mentality, that's something Freya [Coombe] has never had to fault our team for."

"I don't care if it's a Challenge Cup, league, or friendly match, I want this chance now to go out and show what we represent as Angel City away. We take the pride of representing Los Angeles on the road."

"This is a tough league. There are players who say they want more minutes, players that had the opportunity to start today, so we all have to do better."

On the return of Sydney Leroux:

"We know she is a fantastic player, which is why we wanted her on this team. We've missed her presence since her injury occurred. I don't want her to feel the pressure to suddenly come in and score goals."

"Like Freya said, it's her mentality, drive and how hungry she is, especially after this injury. She wants to play and represent Angel City, and it's inspirational for myself and the team. This is an example where we have these players like Sydney and Merritt [Mathias], that want to play so badly."

"For us getting minutes, we have to show that it is a privilege to play for this team and be healthy enough to compete. In training, it's the quality she has, and her ability to uphold the standard and hold everyone accountable. Just having her energy there, I know she is watching and saying "I'll run through a brick wall for this team", and that's the type of player and leader I want to be."

ACFC Head Coach Freya Coombe

On the message to the team following the match:

"For us, it's looking at the controllable elements of the game and what we can fix. The effort, execution, and technicality were some pieces that were missing from our performance today, which is uncommon for who we are."

"The good news is they are all temporary and fixable. We can get right with our mindset and mentality, and that is what we are going to look to do so that we don't stay like this for too long. We will move on to the next game right away and look to make those things right."

On Sydney Leroux availability:

"In order for her to participate in the post-match training, she had to be listed on the bench so she can warm-up throughout. She wasn't ready to return but we had to put her on the roster for that reason."

"She's making incredible progress, which is the piece I want to focus on. Having her back around the team is lifting us. Her mentality is what we need to inject into performances like today. We are really pleased to have her back and look forward to her appearance in the next few games."

On Megan Rapinoe's three assists:

"She has an incredible delivery. Her range of passing is exceptional, but if we give her enough time and space on the ball she is going to punish us, and that is what she did."

"We weren't close enough to appropriately pressure her. She won free kicks in good areas, which made it dangerous for us. We need to be better and more disciplined when we are looking to press. Overall, she's a quality player and showed her class tonight."

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