Photo courtesy of Angel City FC.
The Angel City faithfull were delighted to seen Sydney Leroux at Banc of California Stadium on Friday night,
It was all there for Angel City.
Despite missing a slew of players due to a combination of injuries and international duty, Angel City went toe-to-toe with the second-place Portland Thorns on Friday night. Savannah McCaskill scored off a rebound from a saved penalty, then weathered the Thorns many attempts while keeping the Portland defense on its heels. It looked like Angel City would defy the odds, grind out another win against Portland at home and climb up the NWSL standings.
However, Portland needed just one more chance to salvage a result out of the match, and they took advantage. Yazmeen’s header off a Madison Pogarch with just under a minute left rescued the Thorns from the jaws of defeat, and Angel City had to settle for the 1-1 draw at Banc of California Stadium.
“That’s something that we’ve talked about as a team and we have to find a way to close out games,” McCaskill said. “We should have had three points, especially at home but overall, I thought it was a solid performance by the team and really good effort put forward by everyone.”
The moment came for the Thorns with under 30 seconds left to go in the match. Pogarch dribbled down the left side of the field, then sent in a long left-footed cross into the penalty area, and the cross turned out to be right on target, as Ryan jumped and headed a ball perfectly past the outstretched right hand of keeper Didi Haracic into the back net for an equalizer that left the Angel City crowd stunned.
“We failed to stop them switching in a pocket right in front of our bench on the inside, which needs to be contained,” Angel City head coach Freya Coombe said of the Thorns’ equalizer. “We also need to manage the game, if it’s a tactical foul we need to execute that and not allow them to switch the point of attack. We certainly need to do better containing the final ball.”
Before that, Angel City had seized the advantage early in the match. Clarisse Le Bihan intercepted a pass and sent a ball towards the Thorns penalty area. Miri Taylor was the recipient of the pass and quickly touched a ball to McCaskill, then ran into the box, Thorns defender Kelly Huby knocked down Taylor inside the penalty area and referee Adorae Monroy signaled for the penalty spot. McCaskill stepped up to the spot for Angel City, McCaskill shot the penalty to the left, keeper Shelby Hogan guessed right and made the save, but left a rebound inside the penalty area and McCaskill capitalized on the second chance, as she slotted the shot to the right of goal into the back net to give Angel City the early lead.
“That’s not exactly how I would like that to go scripted-wise, but it ended in a goal thankfully, and that’s all it matters,”McCaskill said. “Just lucky that it bounced straight back to me and I was able to put it away.”
The match from that point on became game of run for both teams. Angel City kept the pressure on Portland shortly after McCaskill’s goal before the Thorns settle down and started to create their own chances, only to see those chances either miss the framework by a matter of inches, or see the final touch on the ball by the Thorn’s players go heavy. The match resembled the last group stage matchup of the NWSL Challenge Cup between these two teams back on April 24, where Angel City took the lead from the penalty spot and rode its defense and possession game to its first ever win in franchise history. Ryan’s goal for Portland at the death of the match however ensured a different ending for the Thorns.
Friday’s game saw Sydney Leroux make her debut for Angel City. Despite being traded just two days earlier, flying 3,000 miles from Orlando to Los Angeles and having only one training session with her new teammates, Leroux was in the 18 and came in a substitute in the 64th minute.
“The week was crazy,” Leroux said. “I feel like the last three days have been a blur, but I’m so excited to be here. The atmosphere is amazing. The last 30 seconds were unfortunate and we need to be better there, but I’m super excited for the future. The night was unbelievable, and I felt very welcome and my family felt welcome. I’m excited to give Angel City everything that I have.”
Angel City now prepares for perhaps its biggest game of the season, as they welcome its in-state rival, the first-place San Diego Wave FC, to Banc of California Stadium for the first time ever.
Angel City FC
Portland Thorns
