Angel City Football Club's Friendly Match against NorCal Rival Bay FC Ends in Intense 1-1 Draw
NWSL Angel City FC

Angel City Football Club's Friendly Match against NorCal Rival Bay FC Ends in Intense 1-1 Draw

July 19, 2025 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release


SAN JOSE, CA - Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and NorCal rival Bay FC's friendly match this afternoon ended in a 1-1 draw with goals from ACFC midfielder Jun Endo and Bay forward Penelope Hocking.

In the 27th minute of the match, Endo opened the scoring off the perfect touch pass from rookie forward Riley Tiernan to make the score 1-0. This served as Endo's first match appearance and goal in all competitions since returning from an injury she sustained during the 2024 preseason.

Another chance for ACFC came after a yellow card was given to Bay midfielder Kiki Pickett in the 42nd minute, setting up a free kick directly in front left side of the box that was slightly overshot by midfielder Alanna Kennedy.

The start of the second half saw Hocking hit an equalizing goal for Bay in the 57th minute of the match with a shot from point blank range to the back of the net.

Bay FC had a chance to take the lead in the 84th minute when Pickett was by herself in front of ACFC's goalkeeper Hannah Seabert, barely missing the left side of the goal. Followed by another immediate chance, where Hocking took a shot across the body of Seabert that hit the right bar of the goal.

Angel City's will host USL W League club Carolina Ascent FC for another friendly match on July 26 at BMO Stadium ahead of the second half of the NWSL Regular Season. Kick-off is set for 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET.

POST-MATCH QUOTES

ACFC Forward, Riley Tiernan

On the intensity and the result in today's match:

"It was pretty intense. I know that every time we step out, whether it's a friendly or not, it's going to be a tough game. Everyone wants to battle and it's a rivalry, so there's that.

"Coming off the break it's really important. Everyone's trying to prove themselves on both teams. I know for me, it's a competition no matter what we're doing. I'm trying to earn my spot, continue to work hard and implement all the new things I've been learning.

"We didn't get the result that we wanted, so it was a little tough. We could have held the lead, but we'll settle for a tie for now. When we start playing real games again, it's important to get those results."

On how beneficial this summer break has been for the club:

"For me, the break was good because it made me realize that I miss playing a lot. It's so much fun every time we step out on the field. The atmosphere and the fans, everything like that.

"With our new coach, it's really nice to be adapting to the new style of play. Just trying to learn as much as we can. Having these two practice games is a really good advantage for us. Once we start playing in the regular season again, then we can start picking up on those cues and improve on the field."

ACFC Head Coach Alex Straus

Thoughts on the match:

"We have a lot of work to do. There's a lot of things that we want to do and we want to move as fast as we can. We need to approach all of these games as it means something for the players.

"They have to prove themselves again with a new coach coming in. So for us, it was not friendly. The last couple of weeks we've been working hard. It is a process and it's going to take some time."

On the team's performance in today's friendly match:

"They gave us a lot of challenges today. For me, I'm very happy with Jun Endo being back on the pitch. She was cleared for 30 minutes today and we hope we can play her a little for our next game and going forward. We're really happy about that and the fact that she scored is a bonus.

"We had some good moments, but we put the standards high and we want to get to that part of the season where you play games that you will either send you far or home and play for championships.

"We also need to be honest with ourselves and there's a lot of things that we needed to do better today as well. We are not scared of facing that, and we don't try to hide anything about that. We just know where we are at the starting point."

Check out the Angel City FC Statistics



National Women's Soccer League Stories from July 19, 2025


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