u/MazLA

Well, all in all that ended up being sort of a weird one, but Angel City held on for the tie with some strong moments (and some wtf moments) in both directions. Shores was back but Mai and Sveindis remain out, Prisca was back from WAFCON and we hate that for Zambia but love it for us, Sofia Mattice dyed her hair and I specifically took that personally because I couldn't figure out who was on defense for 15 minutes, and Tiernan got her first start in a while and IMO showed she deserved it.

The teams were pretty evenly matched, with the possession for the game split 51/49, both teams taking 16 shots and 6 shots on goal, and similar pass/cross/clearance numbers. Angel City took the lead in the firsts half with a goal from Gisele Thompson at 32', assisted by Borges, and it was excellent, very Thompson.

We fell apart a bit coming out of the half, with Reign scoring at 50' and 52', scored by Menti and Fishel and each goal assisted by the other in cute swapsies fashion. That was a bit of a downer but credit to our girls they did continue to fight. Shores and Prisca subbed in at 69' and Shores assisted a beauty of a goal by Prisca at 72', bringing the score even. Angel City had a 3 on 2 breakaway in the 94th minute with Suarez surging forward flanked by Phair and Sentnor, passing off to Ally who... couldn't capitalize. A frustrating moment for sure.

After the game there was a very strange conflict involving what seemed to be either hyper-aggressive or entirely unintentional differing approaches to the handshake between Smerud and Harvey, leading to the entire coaching benches barreling into each other in a chaotic little mess. Always tough to see your parents fight, hopefully everyone slept it off.

Next weekend we face the Spirit at home - how are we feeling? Chat and discuss!

A respectable 25 of you (22%) correctly predicted last weekend's tie with KC. Smart cookies. This weekend we head to Seattle to face the Reign.

After last week we are holding onto a playoff berth at 8th in the table. Sveindis and Mai both have 6 goals, and we are holding our breath to see if one or hopefully both of them is available after injuries last week. ACFC is 4th in the league on goal differential, with +7, having only allowed 17 goals this season. Prisca is still at WAFCON (scored a goal today go Prisca!) and our injury list is long so expect some movement up front.

Reign sits right below us at 9th in the standings, tied for points at 23 and a 7-2-7 record for the season. Angel City keeps the lead with goal differential, Reign's being -1. They are on a bit of a hot streak, winning 3 of their 5 games since the break. Maddie Mercado leads the Reign offense with 5 goals this season, and Mia Fishel has scored twice in the last 3 games.

This is our first time facing the Reign this season - how do we feel? Vote in the poll and discuss below!

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Happy Sunday Angels! This afternoon we bring a close to a truly thrilling world cup tournament, but this morning we bask in the glow of a third Angel City win! Let's discuss.

The team played in Chicago, with Claire getting her first start, the wind off Lake Michigan howling through the microphones, and the camera seemingly being operated by a tipsy bird for much of the game. The first half was hard fought - Alozie and Chacon especially on Chicago challenged our defenders, but we held a strong line and made some lineup adjustments and handled it well. We pushed the attack with strong runs from Sveindis and Gisele, but couldn't find the last touch to score.

The second half was definitely ours - in the 56th minute there was scrum in the box, with Mallory Swanson taking out Mai's legs and Manaka immediately slashing Ary right after - ultimately the call was for the second foul, and Mai sunk the PK with ice in her veins. That's 5 goals in 5 games for Mai, her boots are lookin' pretty gold to me.

Prisca came on for Mai in the 84th minute and pretty immediately had an impact, carrying the ball up the right side and passing in for Sveindis to score a goal... that was called offsides. AGREE TO DISAGREE I GUESS. Not to be deterred, in the 98th minute the two of them ran in back, Prisca this time blowing past the defenders and coming up the left to pass across giving Sveindis an easy tap in.

A few pain points for sure - a LOT of shots over the goal, and first touch in the box needs work all around. Still some communication growth needed to ensure that passes connect. But we had some truly excellent long balls to set up transitional attacks, our defense was relentless, our attacks were quick, and Ang held it down for a third straight shutout. And postgame we got to see baby Jamie do his first tv interview with mama Claire, heart eyes everywhere, cute cute cute.

How are we feeling? Ready to face Louisville back at BMO? What should we work on? Discuss below!

Dare I say we are so back? No, I don't, as I believe too strongly in jinxing things - but we did look good last night, and brought home the win! That brings our all time record against the Wave to a visually satisfying 3-3-3, and keeps us well in the fight for playoffs, with our current ranking sitting at 9th with 19 points and 1-2 games in hand compared to some of the teams ranked higher.

While I was admittedly watching this on the single TV at the very loud bar that wasn't playing the Arg-Swiss world cup game and so didn't catch EVERYTHING, I thought in the first half we looked strong and confident. The second half was a little dicier for sure, but our defense stayed tight and limited the Wave to only 6 shots on target despite them having over 2/3 of the possession. Angel City goals came in from Mai Niehues in the 17th minute (bringing her to 4 in 4 games) and Ary Borges in the 26th minute, starting us out strong, and we stayed focused and held the lead for the rest of the game. Big credit to big Ang, who made 6 saves and kept us alive against the Wave's notably strong offense, and a nod of thanks to the goalpost for that PK stop.

Our midfield seems to be gelling, and I see potential in the Ally/Carina/Ary combo.

Jun Endo went down and left the field looking distraught in the 36th minute in what appeared to be a no-contact injury - we all hate to see that and hope for an update soon. As of posting admin has just said that she is being evaluated. Send her good vibes, truly knees are the worst.

We travel to Chicago next week where we can hopefully focus on possession and keep our win streak going.

Did we do pretty great considering Wave is the number 1 team, or did we grit out a win despite some weakness in possession? What should we expect and what do we hope to see in Chicago? Please discuss!

After a hard fought game, Angel City fell to North Carolina in an epic Battle of the Clubs on Sunday, with Mai Niehues scoring off a header in the 51st minute to contribute to a 1-2 result.

Angel City led in shots on goal (17-10), shots on target (5-4) and possession, but ultimately couldn't capitalize. North Carolina held the ball less and spent a lot of the game on defense, but took advantage of their opportunities with two remarkably similar goals that highlighted some disorganization when Angel City needs to recover quickly and cover in the box.

Some highs - a fourth start for Carina Lageyre and she looked very strong, controlling the ball in the midfield and creating chances to advance. Between Carina, Taylor, Kennedy, Evelyn, and Gisele, our young crop of players have some serious footwork skills and it's very fun to watch them break ankles. We saw a full 75 minutes from Jun Endo and 20 from Claire Emslie, both fan favorites, veterans, and relentless attackers who drive play toward goal. And we saw Karsyn Cherry's NWSL debut, congrats to Karsyn!

The lows - it's tough! I honestly thought this was a great game by pretty much everyone on the field, with a few mistakes ending up costing us big. We need to figure out how to capitalize on corners and crosses better. We need to get organized in the box - I thought the 5-back system was working well, and that additional coverage could have prevented the goals today. I'm sure there are other critiques to be offered that I didn't pick up on from the supporter section so feel free to offer those in the comments!

Overall a disappointing result but a strong showing. Looking forward to watching Gisele, Taylor, Kennedy, Evelyn, Sveindis, Ary, and Claire represent for their national teams over the break.

We may have lost the Battle of the Clubs but we have not lost the war (season). Use this post to discuss what you hope the team focuses on over the break, See you all in July!

An unknown number of you correctly predicted the result of Game 9, because that is happening tomorrow against KC - see you in the future!

This Saturday ACFC is back on the road facing Houston for the second time. Going into Game 9, ACFC is 3-4-1 after keeping a clean sheet against the Thorns last weekend. This is a long week, with a home game sandwiched between 2 away games, so hopefully we can manage minutes and come into Saturday with high energy. Sveindis is still the leader in attacking stats, and Taylor Suarez is persistently knockin' at the door, so we hope to see her first NWSL goal soon.

Houston sits just below Angel City at 13th and is winless in their last 5 games, including a 3-0 loss to KC last weekend. Houston's attack has been led by Kiki Van Zanten, with 4 goals on the season so far, followed by rookie Kat Rader who's had a strong start with 2 goals and 1 assist over Houston's 9 games.

Who will win Saturday's game in Houston? Vote in the poll and discuss below!

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Well, 44% of you correctly predicted last weekend's loss to Wave, and folks, we could use a win. So let's get it this weekend!

This Sunday the ladies head to Portland to face the Thorns for the second time this season, which feels weird! But sure! Portland is leading the standings with 19 points after 9 games. They broke a 5 game unbeaten streak last weekend, falling to Louisville 3-1. Their only goal in that game came from Sophia Wilson, who has 3 goals in her 4 games back from maternity leave. Leading the offense for the Thorns is Olivia Moultrie, with 4 goals and 4 assists this season, with strong showings from Reilyn Turner with 4 goals and Pietra Tordin with 3 goals and 3 assists.

Angel City is coming into this game after 4 consecutive losses, though encouragingly all of those have been by only a single goal differential. Sveindis remains our offensive leader with 3 goals and 2 assists, and we are holding strong in the top 3rd of the league in goals allowed with only 9 let in to date. This week Mai is off suspension from her red card (EDIT: guess not 😔), and we can expect to see more of Claire Emslie, so that's some offensive power to look forward to. Providence Park is always showing up, so hopefully we can shut 'em down.

How do you think Sunday’s game will go? Vote in the poll and comment below

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In the first of SIX (6!!!) games our ladies will play in May, we're back at BMO this Saturday facing the Utah Royals.

Utah currently sits in 3rd place with 10 points after a decisive 3-0 win over the Reign this past weekend, with Paige Cronin scoring in the first minute of her first game of the season. Mina Tanaka and Chloe Lacasse have led the offense for Utah so far this season, with 2 goals and 1 assist and 1 goal and 2 assists respectively. Kate Del Fava is so far an Iron Woman leading the defense, and Tatumn Milazzo has also been a notable force at both ends of the field.

After a strong start to the season, Angel City sits 5th in the rankings with one less game played than all the teams above us, very much in the mix with a record of 3-2-0. Sveindis remains our offensive leader with 3 goals and 2 assists, followed by Kennedy Fuller with 3 goal contributions and Gisele Thompson with 2 goals. This past weekend brought the thrilling return of Jun Endo to the field, so we can look forward to seeing more of her.

Who will win this weekend? Vote in the poll and discuss below!

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