A busy week ended on a perfect note for Angel City FC.
Playing its third match in just a week, something that had not been done since the Challenge Cup, Angel City found itself in a shootout with Racing Louisville on Saturday evening. Angel City fell behind, but scored two unanswered goals to take the lead, allowed Louisville to equalize from the penalty spot, but then won it late with a penalty of their own, and Angel City left Lynn Family Stadium with the three points following the 3-2 win.
“I think there’s a lot of emotion tonight,” Angel City head coach Freya Coombe said. “The game could have gone either way, but it’s great to come away with those three points.”
Angel City was carried by its stars. Christen Press started things off for Angel City with her second goal of the season in the first half. Then, Savannah McCaskill finished off with the brace, which included her game winner from the penalty spot in second half stoppage time. The result was key for Angel City as it puts them in second place, one point behind San Diego Wave FC.
“This is huge,” McCaskill said. “Those three points can be the difference between us making playoffs at the end of the season. That is far off, but those points add up.”
Louisville jumped out to the lead in the 29th minute. Louisville had a free kick on the right edge of the Angel City penalty area and Savannah DeMelo sent the set piece into the penalty area and Bonner back-heeled a ball past keeper Didi Haracic into the back net to put Racing in front. Angel City had a response seven minutes later as Megan Reid sent a long ball forward. Press outraced Bonner to the ball into the penalty area and took a quick touch before she slotted the shot past keeper Katie Lund into the back net for the equalizer.
Angel City edged ahead just two minutes into the second half. Press had the ball on the right side of the field, deked Freja Olafsson to dribble into the penalty area, then crossed a ball into the six-yard box at the far post and McCaskill came in and chested the ball past a scrambling Lund to give Angel City its first lead of the match.
“It was a great example of committing to making those forward runs and showing up in those spaces.” Coombe said. “We knew there were some areas we wanted to exploit against them. It was a great ball, and Savannah provided the creative finish, which is a typical Sav kind of finish, showing class.”
Louisville however got a break starting in the 62nd minute, and it started when Emily Fox played DeMelo into the penalty area. Reid quickly came back to cover DeMelo, who was unmarked when she got the ball, but Reid ended up pushing DeMelo to the ground and the referee gave the signal for the penalty spot. Nadia Nadim stepped up to the spot for Racing and she sent the shot to her left as Haracic guessed wrong, and the match was level again.
Neither team was satisfied with splitting points in this match, and both pressed for the win. Jun Endo had a point-blank chance in the 75th minute, but her left-footed volley was denied by Lund. Racing’s chance, which came in the 86th minute, was one they definitely wanted back, as Emina Ekic dribbled into the penalty area, which drew in the Angel City back line and Haracic, Ekic took the ball to the top of the six and fired a ball for the far post, but the shot remarkably missed by a lot. A draw seemed imminent, but it was Angel City that got the big break in stoppage time, when Lund fouled Simone Charley inside the penalty area, and Angel City was awarded the penalty. McCaskill stepped up for Angel City and she delivered against her old team, sending the penalty past a flat-footed Lund into the back net.
“It is important to grind out those games and put them away when we can,” McCaskill said. “It shows a lot of heart from this group, and that’s something that I think we’ve shown all season, that we are never going to just lay down and let a team win three points easily.”
Angel City will finally have a chance to get its legs under them, and it will be a much deserved break, as its next match will be on June 18 against OL Reign in Seattle.
