Busy midseason break for Angel City

While everyone has been enjoying the World Cup, Angel City FC have been making moves in hope of getting its season back on track when it resumes on July 3 against the Orlando Pride.

Alex Straus out as head coach

The first big headline came back on June 17 when the team announced it had parted ways with head coach Alex Straus.

Straus had been hired back on April 18 2025 after three seasons at Bayern Munich. In his three seasons in Germany, Straus had led Bayern to three straight Frauen Bundesliga titles and a DFB Supercup title in 2024. Straus coached his first game in Los Angeles on June 1 in a match against the Chicago Stars. Straus managed to keep Angel City in playoff contention for most of the season, but the challenge of having to implement in such short time, as well as the loss of forward Alyssa Thompson to Chelsea midseason ultimately doomed the team.

Angel City had hoped the 2026 season would bring good fortune. Offseason additions, such as USWNT defender Emily Sams and Brazilian midfielder Ary Borges, as well as Straus having a full training camp to implement his system, gave Angel City hope, and indeed things started out well, as Angel City won its first three matches. Things however soon went south, as they won just one more game since that start.

Photo courtesy of Angel City.
Leif Gunnar Smerud will be the interim head coach for Angel City.

Angel City acquires Ally Sentnor

The franchise quickly pivoted to improving its roster, as two days later, it had acquired Ally Sentor from the Kansas City Current in exchange for $850,000 in transfer funds.

Sentnor is considered one of the best young talents in both the league and the national team. Drafted first overall in 2024 by the Utah Royals, Sentnor won both Rookie of the month and player of the month in July of that season and finished second on rookie of the year voting. Sentnor was traded to Kansas City on April 18, 2025 and she helped the Current win the NWSL Shield in 2025.

Sentnor is also establishing herself with the national team. Sentnor has seven goals in 23 caps for the USWNT. Shortly after the move, Sentnor inked an extension with the team that will keep Sentnor in Los Angeles through the 2029 season.