Angel City sweeps Spirit aside to keep playoff dream alive

It was home sweet home after a five-match road trip when Angel City FC returned to Banc of California Stadium on Wednesday night. The first-year playoff hopefuls swept away the Washington Spirit 2-1. That win halted a run of two-consecutive losses and pushed Freya Coombe's team back to within one point of sixth place and a spot in the NWSL playoffs. 

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"After a long road trip, it was great to be back home," said ACFC forward Simone Charley. "It was great to feed off the fans and get a win today."

"To be able to come here and feel that love, it's our purpose, it's our why," said ACFC captain Ali Riley. "To be here on a Wednesday night when it's do or die — it felt great. I think it was our best performance of the season."

After a nervy and frenetic opening that saw both teams create plenty of chances, Scotland international Claire Emslie opened the scoring just six minutes before the break. The goal changed the mood of the match. 

As the ball thrashed the back of the net from Emslie's first-time strike, the North Stand erupted. But the euphoria was cut with an ounce of relief. On a night when Angel City had to win to keep up its chase in the NWSL playoff race, the opening goal was a moment to savor and quench the doubt of the 16,112 in attendance. 

With the pressure valve released, just six minutes into the second half, Charley sent a cushioned header beyond Aubrey Kingsbury for ACFC's second of the night. The goal was created superbly by Jasmyne Spencer. 

"We knew there would be moments to get in behind tonight. We were really pleased with her [Charley] performance tonight," said Coombe. 

Despite some early holes in the ACFC defense, and some trickery from Trinity Rodman, the Spirit offered little attacking threat for the majority of the match. 

Eventually, though, Washington would give the home fans some more faint heart palpations. After Los Angeles midfielder Dani Weatherholt was correctly blown for a shirt pull on Ashely Hatch, the Spirit forward calmly dusted herself down and converted a penalty kick in the 88th minute to halve the deficit.

Here are some takeaways from the night the Angels came home:

Going out to win early 

The key to the victory for Los Angeles tonight was its mindset and tactics that set the tone. Coombe set her team up to be aggressive. She set them out to take the initiative. From the first whistle, Angel City was doing everything it could to create chances and take shots.

Coming into the Spirit match. Angel City averaged 11.4 shots per match. On Wednesday night, by the end of the first half, the home team had taken 11 shots. Three of those hit the target, one slammed against the post, and one nestled in the back of the net. 

The verve and vigor did wear off once Los Angeles had a two-goal lead though. By full-time, ACFC managed just 14 shots. Charley's goal was the only on-target effort of the second period for the home team. Luckily for the California club, two goals were enough. 

"The players are working incredibly hard taking on information. I think we’ve put some good game plans together that we were able to execute. They’re hungry and they’re more dedicated than ever in order to achieve goals as a team," said Coombe about her team's intensity.

While the shoot-on-sight mentality may have looked sloppy early on, it quickly helped build momentum and assure ACFC's dominance on the night. Similarly, there was a barrage of hopeful crosses raining down not the Spirit box during the first half an hour. 

ACFC didn't begin the match in its rhythm but it knew it had to be the team to strike first and take control of a must-win match. Once it found its rhythm and performed the killer blow, there was no going back. That attacking attitude will be essential if this team is to make the postseason. 

Fullbacks in attack mode 

As the first half wore on, Angel City was crying out for someone to take the match by the scruff of the neck. That person would be Riley. 

The LA native was brave and decisive on Wednesday night. Consistently moving up from the left fullback position, the ACFC captain steamrolled the Spirit defense in the 39th minute to create the opening goal.

The move is a defense to attack sucker punch. The space for Riley to run into arises because Jun Endo, who was occupying the left forward role, comes back to collect the ball from ACFC goalkeeper Didi Haricic. As Endo's space becomes vacant, Riley advances and catches Spirit defense off guard. 

Cari Rocarro then sees the half a yard that Riley has on her marker, and sends the lofted through ball beyond the chasing Spirit backline. To Riley's credit, she showed great pace to charge into the box, look up, stay composed, and rifle the low cross perfectly into Emslie's path. 

Of course, it wasn't only Riley who was essential to ACFC's width and penetration. Both fullbacks, Spencer on the right and Riley on the left, were fearless tonight. There were no second thoughts about breaking lines, staying in advanced positions, and always trying to counter.  

"I thought we needed to stretch the line...I'm gonna look up and try and play the ball across. We were looking for that ball all night and she [Emslie] was there and she had a great finish," said Riley about her assist for the opening goal.

For ACFC's match-winning second goal, Spencer becomes the star. When the fullback collects the ball, the opportunity almost looks over. But Spencer is able to take on her opponent one-on-one, and utilize a piece of skill to beat the player. Two-footed players, like Spencer, are so hard to defend against. 

After leaving Spirit defender Anna Heilferty for dead with a piece of skill on her right foot, Spencer cooly whipped in the inviting cross for Charley on her left foot. It would turn out to be a crucial finish for the outcome of the match.

"It was something we had worked on. We looked to overload the fullbacks. Both deliveries and the finish were brilliant, we're really pleased with the players to execute the game plan. Defensively too, our outside backs really helped shut them down," said Coombe.  

Save the chaos for another day

Some might feel that Wednesday night was disappointing when it came to delivering drama. In all four matches, the favored team won and the underdog almost entirely failed to score. Hardly much chaos, and very little consequence. 

The Portland Thorns smashed Racing Louisville 3-0 at Providence Park, the North Carolina Courage embarrassed the Orlando Pride at Exploria Stadium 3-0 and the OL Reign just scraped by NJ/NY Gotham FC 1-0.

However, the slightly predictable and one-sided affairs do mean that there is plenty of juicy tension ahead. At the end of the night, The Thorns are the only team who have clinched a playoff spot. Think of it as a teaser. This weekend's potential for chaos has only increased. 

Thanks to ACFC's vibrant win tonight, the playoff journey for Los Angeles is not over just yet either. The final home match at the Banc of California Stadium is assured to be filled with tension and a near sell-out crowd. ACFC still controls its own destiny and can continue to create chaos as the NWSL reaches its climax.

ACFC now sits in seventh place, just one point behind the Chicago Red Stars in sixth. In an ending that only screenwriters in Burbank studios would have scripted, those two teams will meet each other on the final day of the season in two weeks' time. That match could serve as a "win and in" unofficial playoff match before the postseason even begins. 

"We're in LA, we're looking for that Hollywood ending. We're gonna focus on Louisville first. We've got to get the job done here on Saturday. We're taking it one game at a time." said Coombe about looking ahead.

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