The lights are always bright for Friday night footy, and for Angel City FC, it seems to be a theme for them this season. The LA side will once again serve as the appetizer for the weekend menu of NWSL action. However, this matchup isn’t just bite-sized finger foods, this is Angel City’s chance to bounce back from their first loss of the season, in a massive way, taking down the defending NWSL Champions, and doing it on their pitch.
We’re headed to Orlando ☀️
🗓️ 4/25
📍 Inter&Co Stadium
🥳 4 PM PT Watch Party at Hi Tops Los Feliz
⚽️ 5 PM PT Kickoff#Volemos | #NWSL | #ORLvLA | #AngelCityFC pic.twitter.com/MLVkssq5J1— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) April 23, 2025
It may come as a surprise with how often Orlando is talked about, rightfully so, as the best all-around team in the league, but these two sides aren’t as different as they might seem at first glance. Yes, the Pride are the reigning, defending, NWSL Champions, but that was so last year. This year, the two sides both opened up the 2025 season on unbeaten runs. Both sides suffered their first loss of the season last weekend. Granted, Orlando’s unbeaten run were all wins, zero draws until they finally fell to the Washington Spirit, while Angel City were steadily improving with performance and results until they met the buzzsaw that is Gotham.
Historically, this matchup is fairly even. Orlando hold the slight advantage with a record of 3-2-1 (W-D-L). What is most interesting about this meeting however, is the fact that not once has the home side won. The best a home side has done, were the two draws that Orlando were able to secure. That really bodes well for Angel City if that trend continues this evening. Even coming away with a draw, considering how last week went, would be a massive result for Los Angeles.
The key for this match will be defense, especially in concern to Angel City. Orlando have an extremely potent attack led by the legendary Marta, and Barbra Banda. It’s almost unfair, and an impossible ask, to expect the Angel City defense to keep them off of the scoresheet, but the more you can limit their damage, the better, obviously. This could be one of those matches that require some heavy lifting from your goalkeeper, so hopefully Angelina Anderson can stand on her head a few times. Angel City will also need to make sure their attack is on point. Again, going into this one trying to play for the scoreless draw, wouldn’t be smart. Have to be somewhat aggressive yourselves, especially on the road, and with players like Alyssa Thompson, Kennedy Fuller and a rising Riley Tiernan, the pieces are there for goals. As tough as this matchup against the Pride will be, this is a result the team need. Losing the odd match here and there throughout the course of a season is normal, but if this side want to be in a position for more football come Fall, they absolutely cannot afford to see one loss turn to two, turn to a run, turn to a stretch of poor form.
How To Watch
Angel City make the trip to Orlando, with kickoff set for 5:00pm PT from Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, FL. The match will be broadcast live and can be streamed on Prime Video with Amazon Prime. The match will also be broadcast live via radio, which can be heard with iHeartRadio while Spanish-language broadcasts can be heard on AM980 KFWB.