Christen Press finally makes return to the pitch for Angel City

782 days.

That’s how long it was since Christen Press last played a match. It was back on June 11, 2022 in Louisville that Press tore her ACL in a match that she actually scored a goal in. Since then, to say it has been a grueling process for Press to get back on the pitch was an understatement. In addition to the countless rehab, Press had to go through four surgeries to get back to full strength.

However, finally, on Thursday night on the campus of Cal State Fullerton, after two years of surgeries and rehab, Press finally made her long-awaited return to game action for Angel City FC. Press substituted into the match in the 89th minute of Angel City’s NWSL Liga Mx Summer Cup match against San Diego Wave FC which ended up being a regulation scoreless draw. Press however was key in the ensuing shootout, as she converted her penalty, as did all of Angel City’s penalty takers, and Angel City advance out its group with the 5-3 shootout win.

“I was just telling myself to be present,” Press said. “I was like, I’m going to smell the grass and I’m going to hear the crowd because you never hear the crowd. Truth be told it was very overwhelming and I was just smiling from ear to ear. I don’t know what I was feeling or what was happening. It was just sort of a roar of emotions that maybe someday I’ll be able to process.”

The win enables Angel City to top its group, and the eight points attained in group play is enough to see then through to the semifinals, as the eight points was only topped by the Kansas City Current’s nine points. The semifinals will be played on August 6 at Kansas City’s CPKC Stadium, thought its opponent has yet to be determined.

“I’ve just asked them to really enjoy themselves, enjoy the game, each other and the struggle,” Angel City head coach Becki Tweed said. “The first 20 minutes was a struggle, but we put ourselves through that and we had to enjoy it instead of getting stressed out by it. In past weeks we’ve been stressed out by struggle. So finding ways to enjoy struggle, finding ways to enjoy winning, finding ways to enjoy each other and be the best versions of ourselves, has been the main focus for the last couple of weeks.”

The moment for Press finally came in the 89th minute, as she entered the match in place of Katie Johnson. Press actually had a chance to break the scoreless deadlock in stoppage time, as Claire Emslie dribbled around the end line, then passed to an unmarked Press, who took the close-range shot, but missed the near post.

The match eventually headed into a shootout, Emslie was first for Angel City, and she converted to get Angel City on the front foot, and after Savannah McCaskill converted for Wave FC, Press took her turn a the penalty spot and showed to have ice water in her veins, as she drilled the power shot to the lower left corner even as keeper Morgan Messner guessed right. The big moment of the shootout belonged to Angel City keeper Didi Haracic, as she denied Amirah Iman Ali’s penalty to keep Angel City in control. Rocky Rodriguez and Alyssa Thompson converted their penalties and Kennedy Fuller saw Angel City onto the next round, as she converted to the upper left corner to win the match.

“I feel like myself and I think sharpness comes with that,” Press said of being in the shootout and converting her penalty. “With the penalty, I actually think it was probably the first time that the larger world has seen that I have my center of gravity and I have my footing. I am the same player that I was, hopefully a little better.”

The two Southern California rivals played to a standstill for 90 minutes, with both side creating chances, but unable to break through. Angel City had the best chance, and it came in first half stoppage time, as Jasmyne Spencer sent a ball forward, and Thompson timed her run perfectly to get behind the San Diego defense and into the penalty area. Thompson took a touch, then took the shot, but the ball instead bounced off the near post.