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NWSL Angel City FC

Angel City Football Club's Match Preview Ahead of Road Match against Houston Dash

June 14, 2024 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release


Tomorrow, June 15, at 6:30 p.m. PT, Angel City is on the road against the Houston Dash. The match will stream on ION and internationally on NWSL+. An English-language radio broadcast will be available on iHeart.

Matchup

Angel City's last game was a 1-2 loss on the road at NJ/NY Gotham FC last weekend. That game saw Gotham forward Crystal Dunn get on the board in the 26th minute, with Angel City midfielder Clarisse Le Bihan equalizing in the 51st. New Jersey midfielder Rose Lavelle notched the game-winner in the 62nd minute.

Houston's most recent result was a 0-2 loss on the road in Louisville, with both of Racing's goals coming in the second half.

That pair of results puts the two teams just one point apart, with Houston in 11th with a 3-6-3 (W-L-D) record, and Angel City in 12th with a 3-6-2 record.

Angel City are 1-1-3 all-time against Houston. Their most recent meeting was a 0-1 loss at home in May.

Scouting Report

On Houston's front line, the player to watch is Mexico international (and Riverside native) Diana Ordoñez. The now-22-year-old had an outstanding 2022 rookie season- she started college at 17 and declared for the draft after her junior year- at North Carolina, where she notched 11 goals in 12 games, making her the NWSL record holder for most goals scored as a rookie.

After the Courage traded Ordoñez to Houston in 2023, she struggled to match the heights she found in her first season as a pro, recording just three goals on the season. But in 2024, under new Head Coach Fran Alonso, Ordoñez seems to be finding her feet again, as she leads the team in goals with four to date. At 5'11, she's a strong physical presence in the box and a major threat in the air, especially when getting on the end of service from Mexico teammate María Sánchez on the wing.

Turning the Table

Houston is just one point ahead of Angel City in the standings, with 12. Houston, in turn, are tied on points with Bay FC, and just three behind Louisville and North Carolina, who are in seventh and eighth place and tied on points.

What that means for this weekend is that with a win, Angel City could jump three spots in the standings, ahead of Houston, Bay, and San Diego. A win for the Dash would also mean jumping multiple slots in the table.

It's also worth noting that ACFC has a game on hand over three of the four teams between them and the playoff line (the top eight teams will make the postseason this year), which is just four points away. In short, the top half of the table is still very much in reach, with more than half the season still to go.

Upcoming Milestones

With another 82 minutes on the field, Jasmyne Spencer will have played 10,000 career minutes in the NWSL.

Sydney Leroux's next goal will be her 45th regular-season NWSL goal, tying her with Debinha on the all-time top scoring list.

ACFC Defender Jasmyne Spencer

Thoughts on the last match with Houston:

"I thought we dominated large portions of the game. We just have to convert the chances that we're creating. Once the floodgates open, we'll be off and running. We just need to make sure that we capitalize on the chances that we produce."

On Becki Tweed's statement on the team not being far off:

"I definitely agree with her. Some positives are that we're in every game. We are creating a lot of chances to get points from games and now it's about figuring out how we can tighten up defensively, and eliminate some of those last minute goals. We're giving up late in games and need to be a little bit more ruthless in finishing our chances that we are creating in games."

On the team getting back to those gritty wins:

"We first have to acknowledge that it's a very different team than last year. We have lost five starters, so understanding what the new strengths of the new players that we brought in are and leaning into those."

"We want to make sure that everyone feels confident in their role and what they bring to the table as a team, unlocking that day in and day out on the training field. So that way when we get into games, everyone feels at their best and knows that they can compete to the best of their ability for us."

On focusing on breakdowns in training and how they can transition that into games:

"It's just creating adversity, tension, and pressure moments in training as much as we can. That way when we face them in the games, they don't feel as stressful."

"It's definitely been a learning curve. We have a lot of young players on our roster. You don't really know how to deal with those situations until you're faced with them. We've had to really learn on the fly and get those growing pains in games. We have a ton of season left and we're excited that we can learn from them and grow."

ACFC Head Coach Becki Tweed

On the focus for tomorrow's match against Houston:

"You've heard me say this before, it's just a complete performance. You don't often get close to a perfect performance in soccer, right? The game is too gray. The game has too many variables. However, I think a complete performance in the sense of controlling what we can control. I just mentioned it, but we know that most of the goals that we've conceded this year have been of our own doing."

"Tomorrow a huge piece for us would be keeping a clean sheet and being in control of the defensive third and in our box. I think results come with that. The focus tomorrow is going to be how do we limit Houston? How do we limit their opportunities? How do we keep a clean sheet on the road? The rest comes with it."

On managing the game plan with a three-game week:

"That's something that is the staff's responsibility and something that we keep really minimally away from the players. I still want them to think about one game at a time and obviously in the back of our minds as a staff, we have to think about team selection, what that looks like over the three games and plan it out."

"It's really hard to do exactly what you want it to look like. You've got to get through one game first and then check boxes and make a checklist on what you're looking for, what you need, and how does that affect Wednesday? What is the score on the day in the first game?

"It's a process. It takes a lot of 'what ifs', I think is the best way to put it. Overall, the focus of the players needs to be one game at a time and they just need to stay invested in that one game and trust the process throughout the three."

On playing Houston twice in a short span and how that affects the game plan:

"I actually don't mind it as such. We all left that Houston game with a feeling of we beat ourselves and we didn't remain focused in the moment that it mattered the most. We didn't test Jane Campbell enough."

"We have an opportunity to fix that. That is something as a player and as a staff group, you always want to come back around because we know that we have unfinished business there. We weren't good enough the first time we played them and we have an opportunity to make amends for that tomorrow."

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