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NWSL Angel City FC

Angel City Football Club Unable to Tally Points in Tight Battle with NorCal Rival Bay FC

June 23, 2024 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release


SAN JOSE - Angel City fell 0-1 on the road to Bay FC in their third game of the week, which was their second in the last four days. Bay's goal was scored by midfielder Tess Boade.

Angel City had an early chance in the second minute when midfielder Clarisse Le Bihan sent a well-weighted ball up the right wing for defender Gisele Thompson's overlapping run. Thompson dribbled into the box and deftly cut past Bay defender Alyssa Malonson to fire off a shot to the far post, which went just wide.

LA had another near miss in the 15th minute when a cross from the right by forward Claire Emslie fell to defender M.A. Vignola, whose headed shot deflected off Bay defender Savy King; ACFC forward Sydney Leroux's short-range headed follow-up attempt was saved by goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland.

In the 24th minute, Bay had their first good look of the game when midfielder Dorian Bailey sent a ball out wide for defender Savy King, who crossed it into the box. Forward Asisat Oshoala made a well-timed run, but her right-footed shot sailed high over the crossbar.

The visitors put together another look in the 29th minute when Thompson sent a square pass into the box. As midfielder Rocky Rodríguez made a late run into the area, Le Bihan dummied the ball, allowing Rodríguez a one-timed shot from the edge of the 18- but her shot hit the woodwork.

After keeping Angel City under persistent pressure for much of the half, Bay broke through in the 33rd minute when midfielder Tess Boade got on the end of defender Emily Menges's low cross and took one touch to redirect it under Oshoala's feet and over the goal line.

After a pair of chances early in the second half by Bay forward Racheal Kundananji, the next 20 minutes saw little action by either team going forward. Angel City keeper DiDi Haračić came up big in the 71st minute, stopping another pair of chances by the Zambian international- the first a close-range effort at the near post off a corner kick which Haračić blocked on the ground, the second a hard shot from 15 yards that she narrowly deflected with a foot.

Angel City had one more quality chance in the 82nd minute. Forward Alyssa Thompson drove up the left, beating two defenders to send a driven ball into the run of midfielder Kennedy Fuller just inside the area. Fuller's one-timed shot was deflected out for a corner kick.

With her start tonight, Haračić became the first Angel City player to reach 50 career starts and appearances for the club.

ACFC is at home next Sunday, June 30 at 4:30 p.m. against the Orlando Pride.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

ACFC Defender Megan Reid

Thoughts on the match:

"We came out slow in the first half and that really shot us in the foot a little bit, but then we were able to turn around and really put the pressure on in the second half. Unfortunately, we just weren't able to convert."

"We had our opportunities to put them away and we had our ability to not let the ball go in the back of the net. We faltered in a moment and they hurt us."

On what the club needs to do to display a full 90 minute performance:

"It's just mentality and how we step into the game, whether we've played zero games before leading up or 12, it doesn't matter."

"We need to make sure that everyone's locked in mentally and everyone's going to have their own way of doing that. We have to be able to do that individually, to be able to do it collectively as a team. It's finding our own individual ways to be able to do that so we can come together collectively."

On her performance overall tonight, passing efficiently, getting the ball over top in the second half to create opportunities:

"We started moving the ball a little quicker in the back, which allowed me more time and space on the ball to be able to hit the ball diagonal. Also, just knowing that's what they were looking for as well. The worst thing you can do as a center back is start lumping balls in and then you lose it because your forwards are on a different page."

"Being able to reconnect and say - hey, this is a space where we can hurt them and go after it. This is how we do it: circulating the ball fast, shifting them, getting the ball back to me and then finding that over the top. That was the conversation at half and that was a space that we could exploit."

ACFC Head Coach Becki Tweed

On the match overall:

"If you don't test the goalkeeper, you're not going to score goals. We created two chances early and we weren't outplayed, but we didn't create enough."

"It looked like it was our third game of the week. We only have ourselves to look at. This league is hard, and you can't feel sorry for yourself. You have to move forward and move on. If we finished this game nil-nil, we would still be disappointed. The fact that we conceded another soft goal is disappointing and it comes down to not taking the two chances we had early on."

On the club's performance over three games in one week:

"You don't really get to train and you don't know where people are [with their recovery]. It's hard for everybody, but it is part of being a pro and it is why you have a roster of 26. There is no excuse for it. You have to prepare for a quick turnaround and be able to use all of your squad. We beat ourselves again and made it harder than we needed to."

On Sydney Leroux's performance over the last three matches:

"She's proved that she has that never-say-die mentality. She has that work-to-the-end mentality. She'll put in the tackle, or create a momentum changing moment. We asked a lot of her this week as a player and as a person, but if there is anyone that can do it, it's Syd."

On the club's upcoming match against unbeaten Orlando Pride next Sunday:

"We're sometimes better off when we're the underdogs. We have that underdog mentality, but when we have that expectation [as a favorite], we tend to struggle more. We're still trying to understand why we can't be that team, but we'll get there."

"You don't need motivation when you play a team like Orlando. They have gone thirteen games unbeaten and it is incredible. However, they have to waver at some point, and why not try to be the first team to do that?"

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