Photo courtesy of Angel City FC.
Just one game in, Claire Emslie has already endeared herself to the Angel City faithful.
Quite the debut for Claire Emslie.
Just three days after being signed by Angel City FC, then arriving in Los Angeles and getting acclimated to the city, then having just two training sessions with her new teammates, then coming in as a substitute to start the second half of a massive match against a regional rival, playing in front of the franchise’s second sellout crowd of 22,000, not to mention playing in front of A-list celebrities such as Dwayne Wade, Gabrielle Union and Chiney Qgwumike; it had to have been quite the experience for the Scottish international.
Yet on Saturday night, with just one strike, Emslie vaulted herself into folk hero status amongst the Angel City faithful. Emslie scored the game-winning goal late in the second half as Angel City, despite once again missing several key starters, then going down a player, got its biggest win to date earning the 2-1 win over first-place San Diego Wave FC in the first-ever regular season matchup between the two Southern California rivals.
“There were some great successes from tonight,” Angel City head coach Freya Coombe said. “Lily Nabet had a very good game with her first start of the season. She did very well in possession. It was a lot for her to go from zero minutes to a complete 90 minutes. Same with Miri (Taylor). They did a great job.”
The win vaults Angel City (5-4-2, 17 points) into a tie for third place with the Portland Thorns. Angel City got the three points despite again being short-handed, this time missing Savannah McCaskill due to a left leg injury, and while Wave FC did not have Alex Morgan, who is currently with the USWNT at the CONCACAF women’s championship, as the old saying in spots goes, you have to play the team in front of you. Angel City did that, and got the result it needed. Angel City also earned a measure of revenge against San Diego, as they had drawn and lost against Wave FC in the NWSL Challenge Cup, now it has bragging rights of winning the first ever regular season matchup.
“I think this rivalry will set new standards and push the league further,” Angel City defender Ali Riley said. “We’ve been setting the bar and now I think we’re showing that there’s an audience and a market for this. Invest in us. I look at all the people who care about women’s soccer, not just in Southern California, but I’m pretty happy that it happened here and we got the win tonight.”
The moment came for Emslie in the 81st minute. Cari Roccaro received a ball from Paige Neilsen and dribbled down the left side, Roccaro then crossed into the penalty area for Leroux, which drew in the Wave defense, Leroux however chose to dummy the ball, which left Emslie open for a chance on goal and she delivered, as she fired the right-footed shot past keeper Carly Tedford far post to send the sellout crowd at Banc of California Stadium into a frenzied pitch.
“As far as the goal, it came down the line and I tried to get up field and provide support,” Emslie said. “It was a good cross from Cari and Sydney dummied it really well. It came to me and I kept it rolling in the corner.”
Aside from it being the winning goal in a rivalry match, Emslie also earned the honor of being the first Angel City player to score a goal in front of the team’s supporters section on the stadium’s west side.
“The supporters were amazing,” Emslie said. “Right from warm ups they were loud, so coming into the game with such a great atmosphere made me happy, and I’m glad I was able to score that goal.”
Angel City jumped ahead in the ninth minute thanks to some crisp passing. Leroux dribbled forward to lead a break, then passed to Jun Endo, who took the ball into the penalty area, held the ball before finding Riley on the overlap, Riley made a cutting move left and shot a ball that went off the left foot of Telford into the back net. San Diego’s best chance of the first half to find the back net themselves came just before stoppage time, as they had a free kick from about 30 yards out, Abby Dahlkemper sent the shot on target, only to see the ball hit off the crossbar.
Photo courtesy of Angel City FC.
Ali Riley, center, scored her first-ever goal as an NWSL player.
Wave FC eventually did get the equalizer in the second half. Katie Johnson slipped a ball through the Angel City defense into the penalty area to Kristen McNabb, who then chased down the ball and fired a shot that beat both Haracic and Paige Neilsen far post to level matters. Energized by the goal, San Diego pressed for the lead, and nearly got it in the 63rd minute, as Kelsey Turnbow chipped a ball from the right side of the field towards goal, the ball got past Haracic, but did not get past the framework, as the ball went off the far post and back into play, and while Johnson got a touch on the ball inside the six-yard box, it was clearly not enough time to get a shot, as the ball went off Johnson and over the end line. Things got even dire for Angel City in the 79th minute, as Tyler Lussi pushed down Amirah Ali from behind while trying to prevent a breakaway. Lussi was called for the foul and earned her the yellow card. Unfortunately, it was her second yellow card of the match, which brought an early end Lussi’s night.
Angel City FC
San Diego Wave
