After the long road trip that felt more akin to an International break, Angel City FC were back at home in Los Angeles looking to take down another top team in the league. After the massive win to close out the road trip against then unbeaten Chicago Red Stars, the squad played host to top three side NC Courage. Even just getting a result would have been huge to build upon the win on the road, but the team had sights set on taking down a giant, and really sparking fire to a season that got off to a really rough start.
City Gurls ☝️#Volemos | #NWSL | #LAvNC | #AngelCityFC pic.twitter.com/sHIK51AvJe
— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) April 22, 2024
Last week we saw the team scrap together a win that really was more luck than anything. Obviously, they did excellent to defend and not concede the goal after benefiting from the own goal, but it was far from a win that had you feeling any more confident. In fairness, you need those wins sometimes in a long season, in a league as wild as NWSL. While this week wasn’t a dominating performance in terms of the team just outright controlling Courage for 90 minutes, it was a statement type win that saw the team take advantage of the few opportunities they had, keeping football heritage alive with a third 2-1 win over the North Carolina side when in Los Angeles.
In terms of statistically dominating, and honestly on the pitch dominating for the most part, that was North Carolina. The visitors had one of the better matches anyone has played against this Angel City squad. They kept 65% of the possession, had two times the successful passes (513), earned five times the corner kicks (5), took three times more shots (15), but still couldn’t leave LA with a result. A lot of that was that infamous grit that seems to be growing in legend with every win, but a lot of that was one player, Claire Emslie, stepping up to lift the team on her back and when you’re a squad struggling to get anything going, sometimes you need a player or two to just step up and do it themselves.
As gritty as it gets
The people over at Fotmob have a stat called “big chances” that is much in the vein of xG where it takes several factors into account to determine if a chance is deemed a big opportunity. Essentially another way to track expected goals, moments where teams have a better than average chance at success throughout a match. Carolina had three of those chances, missing two with their goal scored being the third. Angel City finished the match with none. However, the lack of big chances doesn’t equate to lack of big moments, and this is why it is so important to remember matches are played on the pitch, not paper.
Not only that but when taking a look at the team’s passing map from the folks over at StasBomb, things look even rougher. The two players that kept and controlled the ball the most for ACFC, goalkeeper DiDi Haracic and defender Sarah Gorden. The latter not so much a shock, but to not have your attacking players actually on the ball for any significant amount of time isn’t usually a strategy for success. The team finished with just 67 accurate passes in the opponents half according to Fotmob. What’s more, only one player actually spent enough time on the ball in the opposition half to track, no surprise as to who, Claire Emslie.
The forward had a night to remember with not one, but two goals that are arguably up for goal of the season up to this point. The first, the all too crucial early goal in the 23rd minute, taking full advantage of a free kick from just outside the box, sending in a curling effort top bins that was never going to be stopped. However, it was the goal in the second half that really impressed. A pinpoint pass from Alyssa Thompson found Emslie in stride and with not one but two defenders nearby, and a goalkeeper that wasn’t completely off their line, hit us with a picture-perfect chip that got over the keeper, but under the bar to double the lead and at the time, all but slam the door shut on any Courage attempts at a comeback. It was a goal that just oozed, this is our night so just enjoy the show.
✌️ for ACFC!
Emslie doubles @weareangelcity‘s lead and scores the 💯th goal of the 2024 season! pic.twitter.com/b6awmXYRaO
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 22, 2024
My favorite part about doing this series is being able to research and confirm immediate suspicions. That goal seemed all too familiar and looking back, it’s an almost identical goal to one scored before. Back in March of 2023, when the team was taking on Club America in a friendly, Alyssa Thompson put on a pinpoint pass that found a running Emslie, who without hesitation, chipped the goalkeeper for a goal. Unfortunately, Emslie was offsides that time, but against the Courage there was no doubt it was pure.
Message received
In the leadup to the match we talked about the team doing all it can to keep the vibes up. Not just because of the slow start, but because in the days leading up to the weekend, the team announced a trade that saw two players leave, causing a stir amongst fans, understandably so. A team that felt like it had a depth issue, was sending away two players and not for anyone in return, but for money, cap space, and roster space. While not a completely wrong, the timing left much to be desired, though that can’t be helped when the NWSL trade deadline is set by the league and not the teams.
That angst felt after the moves must have reached the players in the squad because despite not doing anything attacking wise, the team did look sharper in some areas. Playing from the back looked a lot less nervy, the little passing that did occur looked solid enough with the team completing 75% of the passes taken, and as we mentioned before we saw the team lifted by a performance from Emslie that in truth could help others within the squad come into the next match with a bit more confidence, ready to put on a show of their own.
After the match defender Sarah Gorden let us know that some of the wilder takes from the trade discourse must have been heard, saying “Obviously a lot has happened for our team this week, its been a pretty emotional week for everyone. I just want to shoutout the fans, and the people that are here to ride for the players that we have here.” She continued, “We really appreciate your support for those who truly believe in us, we put everything into this every single day, every single week, so for those who believe in us, we are going to keep giving you everything we have.” Teammate and fellow defender Madison Hammond quoted it on Twitter simply saying, “Ya’ll rockin? See you Friday then.”
y’all rockin? see you Friday then 😘 https://t.co/be9VdHIHLY
— Madison Hammond (@gohaamm) April 22, 2024
Honestly, we love this energy. Finding motivation in sports in nothing new. We’ve seen teams like the Patriots and Alabama in American football refer to themselves as underdogs in the midst of dynastic runs, we’ve heard superstars like LeBron claim there were those who doubted his ability, despite magazine covers and proclamations of ‘Chosen One’ at 18-years-old. Point is, if Angel City need to feel like there were those out there that were a little too wild in their takes, and putting a little too much on the aftermath of the recent trades, more power to them.
For a team that has seemingly struggled to find confidence, nothing helps more than stringing together wins and feeling that chip on your shoulder grow larger. End of the day, its all about results, and doing whatever needs to be done to keep them going against a high-powered KC Current side tomorrow.
Thoughts after the recent win? Leave a comment below!