Angel City FC invest in the future — and in winning now — with No. 1 pick

When Angel City FC positioned itself into getting the first pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft, there was little question about which player the club had its eyes on. 

ACFC selected 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson as the No. 1 overall pick, making her the first high schooler to be the first selection in NWSL draft history. Thompson, who attended Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles, won’t be playing far from home, aftering initially committed to Stanford University before deciding to join the pro ranks. 

It's on brand for Thompson to test herself against elevated competition. At 13 years old, Thompson and her younger sister, Gisele, played for the Santa Clarita Blue Heat, a semipro soccer team filled with college soccer players well over her age. By 2020, Thompson and her sister moved to the Total Futbol Academy, to play for the boys' team MLS Next academy U17 and U19 academy teams. 

She was named the 2020 Gatorade Player of the Year after scoring 48 goals in just 18 games. She's also one of California's fastest high school runners, timed as fast as 11.69 in 100-meter dash competition. And she's already made her USWNT first-team debut playing against both England and Spain last October, with a shot at making this summer's World Cup squad. 

In 2022, ACFC was in playoff contention the entire season, finishing just one spot outside of the playoffs, with offensive production its most glaring weakness. The club was ranked ninth in the league, scoring just 23 goals. Similarly, the team was ninth in shots on target, with 87 threatening strikes. Portland Thorns led the league in both categories – scoring 53 goals and having 170 shots on target, more than twice as many goals and almost 100 more shots on target than ACFC en route to the title. 

Injuries took out the team's two most prolific forwards. Christen Press played just eight games due to a torn ACL. Sydney Leroux – acquired as Press’s replacement – dealt with injuries the entire season, limiting her to three games in an ACFC uniform. Thompson added to the mix makes ACFC a potential title threat, and the teen phenom gets two mentors who have three World Cups and an Olympic gold medal between them. In drafting Thomspon, ACFC isn’t just invested in the future, it’s sending a message to the NWSL that it plans to win immediately. 

But Thompson's not the only way ACFC improved. The club also drafted goalkeeper Angelina Anderson in the third round. At the University of California, Berkeley, Anderson won honors as 2019 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year.

 In three seasons, Anderson made First, Second and Third Team All-Pac 12. She saved 78 percent of shots taken and 26 shutouts in her career. She becomes the third goalkeeper on ACFC’s roster with DiDi Haracic and Brittany Isenhour. Haracic was the club’s starting goalkeeper last season and her 70 saves were the third-most in the NWSL, but Anderson adds some depth for a long season that will require rotation around the league with the World Cup's impact.