Angel City Football Club's Quotes Ahead of Road Match against Seattle Reign FC
October 3, 2024 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release
LOS ANGELES - Angel City Football Club (ACFC) prepared this week to face Seattle Reign FC on the road at Lumen Field on Friday, October 4. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET, streaming live on Prime Video.
Below please find quotes from Head Coach Becki Tweed and team captain and defender Sarah Gorden:
ACFC Team Captain and Defender Sarah Gorden
On the mentality the team needs tomorrow to beat Seattle:
"We are pretty aware that at this point we want to win out the last four games. There's nothing else for us to do and that's the mentality.
"We want to give everything we have. However we have to dig it out and get these wins is what we're prepared to do. We don't know the fate of who beats who and if we'll be in. We don't know what it'll come down to. But for us, the mentality is winning the next four games, one game at a time. Whatever happens in the end happens in the end."
On defensive transition being a big point of emphasis in training this week:
"The last few games we've conceded goals that we didn't want to concede, but we know we're better than that. We've also conceded goals in defensive transition. That's been a really big point and really big emphasis in film and in training.
"Making small mistakes in big moments has led to goals, and that was prevalent in the Seattle game. That game didn't sit well with us and one year ago, our season ended in Seattle.
"All these things are on our mind, but the biggest thing on our mind is we know we have to win this game and we have to do what we have to do to get that done."
On the competitiveness of the NWSL with several teams pushing for a playoff spot:
"We've been saying for a long time how competitive this league is from top to bottom. Every year it comes down to the wire. Last year it came down to the final day of games, and we expect the same this year.
"Our league is competitive. It makes it difficult for us physically, emotionally, and mentally because every single game is a challenge. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day- besides Orlando this year, apparently.
"It speaks to how much talent we have in this league. It makes our jobs that much more exciting and that much harder."
ACFC Head Coach Becki Tweed
On key takeaways from the last match against Seattle:
"That loss was probably one of our worst performances of the season in terms of just controlling what we can control structurally. We don't feel like we left that game knowing that we played our best in any way and we were still able to score twice.
"We definitely have some unfinished business. We have to go out tomorrow and put on a performance, first and foremost, and the result will come with the performance. However, we know that this is a game where both teams are just fighting to pick up points.
"We know that we didn't perform the best that we could in the last match and we want to turn that around tomorrow."
On the competitiveness of the NWSL with several teams fighting for the final playoff spot:
"For the league in general, the fact that anyone can beat anyone in this league is the biggest strength.
"When we talk about competitiveness and about the best leagues in the world, this doesn't happen anywhere else, where no one sits in the same spot in standings. [There's] no team [that you] can say, 'this is an easy game to win,' you can rest players or you can take your foot off the gas. That's something that, unfortunately, is happening in other leagues in the world that doesn't happen here.
"While we have that parity and such a strong league, we have to really embrace that. It's exciting. There are four games left and by no means has anybody taken their foot off the gas. In the end, there's going to be some shocks. There's going to be some surprises. There's going to be something that will happen that nobody had on their bingo card.
"It's what makes this league so special. There's an incredible amount of talent across all 14 teams and it's good to be able to see that all teams are still competitive, every single week."
On rookie midfielder Kennedy Fuller getting selected to the USA U-17 World Cup roster:
"It's huge. Anytime that you can represent the US or your country on the world stage is massive. We're excited to watch her progress and see how far she's come after her first year as a pro, and where that lines up in terms of the U-17s and the rest of the world.
"That group is incredibly strong, which is going to be great. I read yesterday there's four pros on the U-17 roster for the first time in US history, which is going to be amazing. You see the progress that the US made by having the eight pros that they had.
"I'm excited to see what that looks like with the seventeens. I'm incredibly proud and happy for Kennedy. It's always a tough one when it's outside the FIFA window because it's a player that we're going to miss. However, it's also a life- and career-changing opportunity for her development and her progress. It's definitely the right choice for her and her future."
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