Angel City FC took a trip to North Carolina, facing off against the Courage in the first of three matches LA will play on the road during this stint. Trying to get the taste of the last match out of their mouths, Angel City were focused on continuing the rhythm they have begun to find over the course of the last month. Controversial loss aside, this is a squad that has slowly figured it out as they’ve secured some pretty big results over recent matches, with sights set on a full three points this evening.
Ngl, we’re pretty excited about this one 👏👏👏 Vamos Angel City! #Volemos | #NWSL | #NCvLA | #AngelCityFC pic.twitter.com/kdw17u3qxJ
— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) May 20, 2023
Courage opened up the match the way home teams usually start, by putting pressure on the visiting side early and often. Former Angel City FC standout, Tyler Lussi, appeared to be laser focused on getting a goal against her old side. She put on several chances at goal that came within inches of finding their mark. Through 30 minutes Angel City had only four touches in the Courage’s 18-yard area, with only two shots. Meanwhile North Carolina had 14 touches in ACFC’s 18-yard area, with five shots, two on target, with a whopping 73% possession.
Angel City did a great job at absorbing the pressure, without breaking defensively. Despite not getting off another shot offensively, the team did well to lockdown on defense, keeping the Courage from finding the back of the net. Both sides went into the halftime break scoreless and even, with ACFC needing to find more in attack if they had any hopes of leaving Cary with three points.
Oddly enough, both sides came out for the final half a bit at ease. North Carolina only added a single shot 20 minutes into the half, while Angel City continued to struggle to find any sort of bite in the attack. Despite being dominated in possession, it felt like another match that was up for grabs for Angel City, if they could just figure out how to get some opportunities at goal.
Despite testing the backline constantly throughout the match, Angel City didn’t break, and were able to keep the Courage scoreless at home. The draw keeps LA on pace with the rest of the teams hovering around the middle of the standings. With Sydney Leroux just a few matches away from her return, and Christen Press not too far behind that, keeping pace with the pack should be the main objective because when those two return, it should be all systems go. ACFC get a week to recover before taking the trip North to face OL Reign, for the first time in NWSL regular season action, next Saturday.
What do you think about tonight’s draw? Leave a comment below!