Christen Press, right, will be playing her NWSL soccer in her hometown starting next season (File Photo: Debby von Winckelmann).
The moves are starting to come for Angel City FC.
With its inaugural season drawing ever closer, Angel City made their first moves on Monday, and these two moves are any indication, Angel City is not content to simply be in NWSL, but are looking to make a name for themselves from day one. First, Angel City announced they had tabbed current NY/NJ Gotham FC head coach Freya Coombe to be the franchise’s first ever head coach, then they made more headlines when they announced they had acquired the rights to star striker Christen Press from Racing Louisville.
Coombe is currently the head coach of NY/NJ Gotham FC, formerly Sky Blue FC when Coombe took over. Coombe was elevated to the position on an interim basis in September of 2019 and earned the position on a full-time basis in December of that year. In 2020, Coombe coached the team through the inaugural NWSL Challenge Cup and the ensuing fall series. Sky Blue had one win, one draw and two losses in the Challenge Cup, but fared much better in the fall series, going undefeated with a 2-0-2 record, and placed fourth in the series. This season, Coombe has Sky Blue well in the playoff chase, as they are currently in fifth place with 21 points, just one point out of the third spot. Before New York, Coombe held several coaching roles with Reading FC, a team she also played for.
Not long after announcing Coombe as the franchise’s first head coach, Angel City cranked up the headlines in a big way, as they announced that they had acquired the NWSL rights to Christen Press from Racing Louisville. In exchange for PRess’ rights, Louisville will receive Angel City’s natural 2022 first round pick, $75,000 in allocation money and roster protection from Angel City in the 2021 expansion draft.
Wednesday’s move is a homecoming for Press, who grew up in Palos Verdes Estates in Los Angeles’ South Bay area. Press attended Chadwick School, then played her college soccer in Northern California at Stanford, where she scored 71 goals in four seasons with the Cardinal, and in her senior year, Press won the Hermann Trophy as the nation’s top women’s college soccer player and led Stanford to the College Cup final, where they lost to Notre Dame. Press has been just as prolific as a pro, scoring a total of 103 goals over a 10-year career with six different clubs. Press’ greatest success came when she played for the Chicago Red Stars from 2014 until 2017, where she scored 35 goals in 60 matches. Press then played for the Utah Royals in 2018 and 2019, sat out the 2020 season due to the COVID pandemic, then signed with Manchester United for the second half of the 2021 FA WSL season. In anticipation of the move, the Royals left Press unprotected in the 2020 Expansion Draft and she was selected by Louisville. Press has also been a fixture on the USWNT. Press has earned a total of 155 caps and scored 64 goals. Press was a part of the USWNT’s World Cup winning squads in 2015 and 2019.
