Angel City Football Club’s run in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup ended Tuesday.
Gotham FC’s Delanie Sheehan’s goal in the 48th minute stood up as the winner, handing Angel City a 1-0 defeat at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City in the first semifinal. Gotham will face either the Kansas City Current or North Carolina Courage in the final Oct. 25.
Gotham had won the two meetings with ACFC in the regular season, both by 2-1 scores.
“I think we created momentum, we had the ball for a lot of game, which is something that doesn’t happen normally against a Gotham team against anybody in this league,” Angel City coach Becki Tweed said. “To dominate the ball was important … when they put numbers behind the ball, we have to find different ways to break them down and create opportunities.
“I think our final pass was off today, being able to get the ball in behind their backline before they got organized. When we did do it, we were successful in the sense that we did get behind, but we didn’t enough.”
After a scoreless first half, Gotham broke through early in the second half with Sheehan’s goal.
“The first half wasn’t our best and we wanted to come out strong in the second half and we did,” Sheehan said. “I saw it (the opening) and took the opportunity.”
Gotham, which had allowed just 13 goals in the regular season, didn’t allow one in the group stage heading into the semifinal.
“Defensive work is a big part of our identity,” Sheehan said. “We take pride in having 11 players behind the ball and we showed that again.”
Angel City won the possession battle and earned 14 corner kicks to just three for Gotham, but was unable to turn anything into a goal. It’s the second game in a row in which Angel City has failed to score.
“I think we have to be a little bit more scrappy in the box,” Angel City defender Sarah Gorden said. “We had so many chances, Claire (Emslie) played some great balls, a lot balls bounced in and around the box, so just being a little bit scrappier and having that dog mentality and just putting one away is going to be the next step.”
Angel City’s best chance came just before the hour mark as Emslie sent a free kick into the box. The ball fell toward Messiah Bright, but her shot was directly into the path of Gotham goalkeeper Cassie Miller, who made the save.
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The loss was the first for Angel City in the tournament. The club had two wins and a draw in group play.
In her second game back, Christen Press came on as a sub in the 80th minute, giving her 15 minutes of action, including the five minutes of stoppage time.
Angel City will return to action Aug. 18 at BMO Stadium against FC Juarez in a friendly. The club resumes NWSL play Aug. 24 on the road against San Diego Wave FC.
