Angel City reached another milestone on Wednesday night.
On Wednesday night Angel City hosted its first international friendly, as they welcomed Tigres UNAL Feminil of Liga Mx Feminil to Banc of California Stadium. Wednesday’s match was the beginning of a partnership between the two clubs, with that partnership including a home-and-home series that will see Angel City travel to Monterrey for a match next year.
“It’s really important. It puts a spotlight on the Mexican league for players and spectators that maybe aren’t watching. I think it gives a great opportunity for us to watch teams from that league,” Angel City head coach Freya Coombe said “The work that’s being done off of the field is very important for the growth of the game. Hopefully this is an opportunity for us to get some international club competition and more formal club competition on the women’s side. You have the Champions League in Europe and on the men’s side, for us now this is the next stage of how we’d like to see the game grow.”
As far as Wednesday’s match, Angel City earned bragging rights, though Tigres made them work for the result. Savannah McCaskill scored the game’s lone goal in the 80th minute, as she perfectly timed her run to get behind the Tigres defense and got on Tyler Lussi’s cross inside the six-yard box to lift Angel City to the 1-0 win.
Not that the result was important to both teams. Wednesday’s match was about building bridges and showcasing the growth of women’s soccer in the region. Tigres had set the standard in Liga Mx Feminil pretty much from its founding in 2016, as its four leagues titles are the most won by a Liga Mx Feminil club, and the club is ambitious, going across the globe to find the personnel needed to achieve success. Its head coach is Canadian Carmelina Moscato, who played for three different NWSL clubs during the league’s first three seasons, and the club has three international players, with the most notable being American Mia Fishel, who was drafted sixth overall in the 2022 NWSL College Draft by the Orlando Pride, but chose to sign with Tigres instead, citing her desire to experience an environment far different than what she has gone through in the States.
“In the absence of a true Champions League here in CONCACAF, these kinds of independent partnerships will take this game to another level for us,” Moscato said. “I think it’ll inspire other leagues to get moving, when you start to see the game growing and connecting in these ways, people want to be part of this, it’s unique.”
Angel City midfielder Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel was perhaps the most excited for Wednesday’s match. Ferrer Van Ginkel, who was born in Brazil, but raised in Barcelona Spain, played her college soccer at West Virginia University, began her pro career in Europe, but spent the last two years playing for Tigres, where she made 10 appearances before signing with Angel City back in January.
“I think it’s really important to do things like this,” Ferrer Van Ginkel said. “Women’s soccer is really new, and there are still a lot of firsts. I was the first international player to play for Tigres, and now it’s the first time the club has done something like this. Maybe other teams in the NWSL now are going to follow and do the same thing, or maybe it’ll become even bigger and we’ll become a league like a copa. I think it’s huge for women’s soccer to always be growing and doing new things like this.”
Wednesday’s match was the first of two international friendlies Angel City is hosting this season. Angel City will next host the Copa Angelina, as they face the Mexico women’s national team at Banc of California on Labor Day, September 5. Until then, its back to NWSL play and the all-important task of qualifying for the playoffs. Angel City will be back at it on Sunday, as they welcome the Chicago Red Stars.
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