Taking on the defending NWSL champions is no small task. Especially when the defending champions have started their 2025 defense of their title, the same way they won it, dominating. After a very tough loss at home at the hands of Gotham FC, Angel City FC hit the road to face Orlando Pride, looking to bounce back after having their unbeaten start to the season, snapped.
🔜 #WASvLA #Volemos | #NWSL | #ORLvLA | #AngelCityFC pic.twitter.com/oqKsJCBiwV
— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) April 26, 2025
When coming into a match as the road team and the perceived inferior team, the biggest thing you can do is score early and if possible, score often. Angel City FC did exactly that. It took just nine minutes for Los Angeles to find the back of the net with another goal from rookie sensation, Riley Tiernan, who just can’t seem to stay off the scoresheet at the moment. A great pass from MA Vignola sent Tiernan on the run down the sideline, and when she got close to the end line, she hit the breaks and sent the defender flying past. Not even trying to improve the angle, Tiernan simply dribbled forward to get a closer look, and then smashed it home for the early lead.
THIS ROOKIE IS ON A ROLL!
Riley Tiernan slots home her THIRD goal of the season 🌟 pic.twitter.com/MishoJ2UV2
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 26, 2025
The goal was her third of the season, having scored in three of the last four matches for the club. The most impressive part about the first half performance from Angel City, was they never let up. Even after taking the early lead, they didn’t sit back and try to defend and hope to see it out, they kept attacking, applying pressure. They nearly scored a second before the 30 minute mark, but an amazing effort from Orlando goalkeeper, Anna Moorhouse kept it out. Still, the team didn’t stop putting the pressure on.
In the 43rd minute, after coming close, Angel City finally got a second goal over the line. It was another great corner taken by Claire Emslie and a scene plenty of us have seen across soccer on a weekly basis. The ball begins to bounce around the box, with no Pride player able to clear, and no Angel City player able to get a solid strike on it, until that is Katie Zelem. She gets her foot on the ball and sends it straight into the roof of the goal, giving LA the two goal lead right before halftime.
The ball falls PERFECTLY for Katie Zelem to finish ☄️ pic.twitter.com/yhcUIPcfmD
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 26, 2025
Orlando went into the break with more possession at 58% but that was all they had going for them at that point. ACFC had eight shots with four on target while the hosts had zero shots on target with five shots. Orlando did finish with seven corners, but even with just four in the half, Angel City made the most of theirs far more than Pride did for themselves. That said, you don’t become one of the more dominant champions NWSL has ever seen for no reason, and with a half to play, we all saw why they are favorites to lift the trophy yet again.
LA started the second half looking like they might actually pull of the upset. They remained crisp, the defense was holding, and Orlando looked off their game on the night. Then, in the 70th minute, Pride leaned on their legend, who came up huge once again. A great pass into the box landed at the feet of Marta who struck it with her first touch, and while Angel City keeper Angelina Anderson did excellent to react to it and get a hand on it, the shot was too powerful and it trickled into the net, cutting the lead in half with plenty of time to go.
The ball falls PERFECTLY for Katie Zelem to finish ☄️ pic.twitter.com/yhcUIPcfmD
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 26, 2025
Just six minutes later, Pride once again found a playmaker to get them what they needed. This time it was Barbra Banda on the end of a Carson Pickett cross into the box. Banda got her head on it and there was no getting to it for Anderson, the equalizer was good.
Carson Pickett tees up the ball beautifully for Barbra Banda to head home 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/84bQZTNLZw
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 26, 2025
The worst part about this entire ten minute span was the vibe going from, this could actually happen, to, is this really happening? It was a hard look at what it takes to put yourself amongst the contenders in this league, you absolutely have to keep going strong for the entire 90 minutes plus an average of three day stoppage time. Speaking of, it was in stoppage time that Orlando completed the comeback with another ball into the box that led to two players going for headers. The Pride attacker and ACFC defender MA Vignola. Unfortunately they couldn’t clear it and the ball bounced into the goal, giving Orlando the win at home in dramatic fashion.
Orlando Pride’s hunt for a third goal pays off ‼️ pic.twitter.com/iOKdJWfPVz
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 26, 2025
Surprisingly, possession was 50/50 in the second half, but what told the story was the attack. Orlando had 10 shots in the second half with five finding their target with three goals. Angel City had just two shots the entire half, with one finding the target. Outside of not being able to hold on defensively, the team also lacked an attacking option off the bench to help provide a bit of a spark for the team in the final 20 minutes. Rather, the team had Christen Press on the bench, but it was another match where we didn’t see her get any minutes. Again, it’s one thing to lean on youth at the start of matches, but when the final moments are screaming for some sort of attacking spark from the bench, to not use one of your more dynamic, more experienced options, is a choice. Now, the team prepare for the next leg of their road trip as they hit the Nation’s Capitol to take on Washington Spirit.
Thoughts on the loss? Leave a comment below!