Angel City wins wild match against Spirit

Another wild week for Angel City FC.

For a second straight week Angel City found themselves in another back and forth match on the road against a finalist for last season’s NWSL title, this time with the runner-up Washington Spirit. This tine however, Angel City found one last push to get them the three points, and it came from Riley Tiernan, as her goal at the death enabled Angel City to leave the nation’s capital with all three points in a wild 4-3 win at Audi Field.

“We wanted to win the game, so having that fight in us to keep scoring goals, no matter what the score, helped us a lot,” Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson said. “We had a belief this game that no matter what happened, we were winning or we were coming away with points.”

Tiernan’s winner was her second goal of the match, as she had also scored the game’s first goal. Tiernan’s brace along with goals from Gisele Thompson and Katie Zelem enabled Angel City to avoid a repeat of what happened in its last match at Orlando, where Angel City jumped out to a two-goal lead only to see the reigning champion Pride to score three unanswered goals and thus steal the three points from Angel City.

Tied at three, with another draw looking more and more likely, Angel City made the most of one last corner kick deep into stoppage time. Claire Emslie sent the corner kick into the penalty area, Christen Press headed a ball forward, the ball then deflected off Tara McKeown, perhaps off her left hand, but the ball fell to the feet of Tiernan, who blasted the point-blank shot inside the six-yard box to regain the lead for Angel City, this time for good.

Just like last week in Orlando, Angel City jumped out to a two-goal lead. Tiernan opened the scoring in the match eight minutes in, as Alyssa Thompson sprung M.A. Vignolia into the penalty area, Vignolia played a short pass towards the penalty spot, and while Savy King could not get a touch on the ball, her run distracted keeper Sandy McIver, and when the ball fell to Tiernan, she quickly fired a left-footed shot past MacIver into the back net to give Angel City the lead. Angel City doubled its advantage in the 22nd minute as Alanna Kennedy sprung Alyssa Thompson down the left side, Alyssa Thompson sent a cross just outside the six and Gisele Thompson snuck in behind Spirit Esme Morgan and slotted the shot past MacIver into the back net.

“I feel like we’ve always dreamed about this,” Gisele Thompson said of combining with her sister Alyssa for a goal. “Doing it together is amazing and getting my first goal was just so incredible. A dream come true.”

However, just as the Pride did the week prior, the Spirit stormed back into the match. Washington got on the board in the 30th minute, as Gabrielle Carle sent a long ball, Ashley Hatch headed a ball into the penalty area, Morgan beat M.A. Vignolia to the ball and fired a left-footed shot that beat keeper Angelina Anderson far post to cut into the Angel City lead. Washington caught Angel City in the 40th minute, as Rosemonde Kouassi played a ball forward that deflected off King but continued forward, allowing Hatch to make a run at goal, Anderson came off her line and sent the ball away, but sent it back to Kouassi, who passed to Gift Monday inside the penalty area, and she capitalized on the gift in front of her; an empty net, and she slotted a left-footed shot into the back net to level the match.

However, unlike the last match, Angel City had a response, and it came in the 72nd minute. Angel City held the ball just outside the Spirit penalty area, Gisele Thompson and Katie Zelem worked a one-two that resulted in Zelem receiving a ball inside the box, Zelem bided her time, that found a sightline that enabled her to fire a left-footed shot past MacIver far post to put Angel City back in the lead. Angel City held onto the lead as the match went into stoppage time, but the Spirit found another equalizer at that moment, as Morgan slotted a Brittany Ratcliffe pass into the back net, the goal was initially waived off as Morgan was ruled offside, but referee Shawn Tehini soon got the call from VAR referee Adorae Monroy, and it showed that Morgan was onside when the took the shot, the initial call was overturned and the match was tied again.