Angel City Football Club found momentum and success during the Olympic break.
After a positive NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, the question facing Angel City is whether the club can continue that positive momentum and turn it into a season-saving run.
The first test is Saturday on the road against San Diego Wave FC.
“I think our future is bright,” ACFC forward Messiah Bright said. “We have a very young group, so I think we are motivated for sure.”
Bright scored a hat trick in Sunday’s 7-0 rout of FC Juarez. Scoring has been a problem for Angel City, with just 16 goals in the first 16 regular-season games.
“The goals didn’t count (toward NWSL stats), but I was able to build that confidence,” Bright said. “It is different now seeing the ball go in without having any hassles about it. It shows I can perform at any level.”
Angel City returns to NWSL play in 11th place with 15 points, tied with San Diego and three points behind Bay FC for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Angel City and San Diego have met twice this season – once in NWSL and the other in the Summer Cup – and both games have ended scoreless.
San Diego will be playing its first league game under new interim coach Landon Donovan. Donovan is the Wave’s third coach of the season. Casey Stoney was fired and replaced by Paul Buckle, who then gave way to Donovan.
“When a team changes coaches, you never know if they’re going to change their formations and tendencies,” Angel City coach Becki Tweed said. “We’ve done a deeper dive into them and into Landon. Their turnaround time with Landon coming in isn’t much time to be able to make a crazy amount of changes yet, so we have to prepare for how we believe they’re going to play.
“Using our game against them in the Summer Cup match will give us a better idea of what challenges we might face and what spaces we might be able to hurt them.”
New Angel City signing Katie Zelem will be available to make her debut, Tweed said.
“She’s comfortable on the ball and drives the standard,” Tweed said of the midfielder and former Manchester United captain. “She’s come into this environment without any hesitation and it is the type of player that we need, one that can come in and make an impact and I think she’s going to play a massive role with this team.”
Ali Riley’s season is over
Angel City placed defender and captain Ali Riley on the season-ending injury list Thursday. Riley, has been sidelined due to “a chronic and persistent leg injury.”
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“This is something I have been dealing with for quite a long time and it just is not a straightforward injury with a predictable timeline,” Riley said. “I know that if I keep training at this level and pushing myself, I could do more damage than good.
“I want to get back to the pitch doing what I love pain free and am now taking the time to do that.”
ANGEL CITY FC at SAN DIEGO WAVE FC
When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Snapdragon Stadium; San Diego
TV: KCAL 9
