Angel City wins second straight against San Diego

Is a 2023-style turnaround in store for Angel City FC? The patterns certainly look familiar.

In 2023, following a slow start to the season, Angel City fired head coach Freya Coombe and made Becky Tweed the interim head coach, and in her first match at the helm, Angel City came from behind for a massive road win against San Diego Wave FC, and it kick-started what ended up being a 12-match unbeaten streak that stretched across three months, and that run was enough to get Angel City to the playoffs that season.

Three years later, the current situation looks eerily familiar for Angel City. A slow start to the season, which results in a coaching change, this time with Leif Smerud assuming interim duties. One slight difference is that Angel City is already operating with a win under its belt, having defeated the Orlando Pride at home last week to open the second half of the season. Nevertheless, Angel City hopes that its latest win in San Diego, a 2-0 decision at Snapdragon Stadium will serve as the catalyst for a second-half turnaround.

“I feel like a win – and a win in San Diego – is amazing, but a shutout is really important for us,” Angel City defender and captain Sarah Gorden said.

Angel City was led by the its Brazilian duo of Maiara Niehues and Ary Borges, who gave Angel City two early first-half goals. Keeper Angelina Anderson also hada big day, as she made six saves in the match.

Angel City relied on its pressuring defense to get them the lead. It occurred in the 17th minute, as Ally Sentnor pressured Kenza Dali to loose the ball deep inside Wave FC territory, Jun Endo won the ball for Angel City, dribbled towards the penalty area, sent a left-footed cross into the six-yard box, keeper Luisa Agudelo looked to cut off the cross, but the ball slipped through her hands bounced inside the six and Niehues pounced, as she came in at the back post and headed a ball into the open net.

Angel City scored its second goal in the 26th minute. Sveindís Jónsdóttir sent a throw-in into the penalty area, the ball deflected off San Diego defender Kristen McNabb, bounced inside the 18-yard box, Borges settled the ball down and fired a right-footed shot just outside the six past Agudelo into the back net and just like that, Angel City was up by two goals.

“In the first half, we managed to press well and create some transitions with our high press,” Smerud said. “And second off, San Diego is a really good, really good team – top of the league – and have some class players, so it was a given that we would have to defend a bit deeper in the second half.”

San Diego had a golden opportunity to get a goal back and perhaps salvage points. It started in the 85th minute, when Kimmi Ascanio touched a ball into the penalty area, was brought down by Borges and referee Ekaterina Koroleva deemed the contact harsh enough to award Wave FC the penalty. Lia Godfrey stepped up to the spot for San Diego and in the 86th minute fired a shot to her left, Anderson guessed wrong, but Godfrey sent her shot off the left post, the ball deflected off the back of Anderson, but still did not cross the goal line and the ball was eventually sent off the end line.

“Over the break, we just tried to simplify everything,” Gorden said. “[We’ve been] bringing this mentality of presence over perfection and trusting ourselves.”

That statement by Gorden echoed sentiments said by then-head coach Tweed at the time. During Angel City’s unbeaten run that year, Tweed pointed to simplifying things on the match as the key to Angel City’s run that season.

Angel City will look to maintain the momentum when that travel to Chicago to face the Stars next Saturday.