(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: The Angel City Football Club (ACFC) has been very busy in its preparation for the upcoming opening day match of the 2026 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). To break up the “day-to-day” practice grind, Head Coach Alex Straus, who begins his first full year at the helm, has led the Club to play two behind “closed door” matches and two that were open to the fanbase.

The team will continue to train vigorously at their Performance Center on the campus of Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, as they await the arrival of their official “Opening Day” opponent, the Chicago Stars, on Sunday, March 15th at BMO Stadium. In their three other 2026 pre-season matches to date, Angel City FC has played against the Portland Thorns (a 2-1 win on Feb 15th and the Seattle Reign FC (a 1-0 loss on Feb 21) at the Coachella Valley Invitational in Indio, CA. They also faced the Kansas Current in a closed-door scrimmage in early February.

ANGEL CITY FC HOSTS THE UTAH ROYALS IN EXHIBITION MATCH AHEAD OF THE 2026 NWSL SEASON

LOS ANGELES (February 28, 2026) – On Saturday, 2/28, Angel City Football Club (ACFC) hosted the Utah Royals in a closed-door exhibition game held at the Angel City Performance Center in Thousand Oaks. The match was the last preseason friendly for ACFC against an NWSL opponent before the club’s home opener against Chicago Stars FC on Sunday, March 15th, at BMO Stadium.

Starting lineups, subs, and scores from the match were not made public. Additionally, you will find brief interviews with ACFC Head Coach Alex Straus and forward Riley Tiernan, who spoke to the media during the club’s weekly availability call on Friday. Quotes from both the exhibition match and the Zoom call are below.

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[PHOTO GALLERY COURTESY]: Angel City FC

[ACFC Forward #33 Riley Tiernan]

(On the difference between this year’s preseason and her rookie preseason)...

“I think last year I knew that I had to fight to get a contract, so there was motivation in that aspect. But I would say this year it’s pretty much the same mindset. I try to stay the same through everything.

But now it’s just a little bit of a different situation. I can be comfortable, but also not too comfortable to the point where I’m not giving my 100 percent, so I think just showing up and I’ve really been trying to improve the things I need to work on and fix any little areas.

Obviously, we’re learning a lot of new ideas from Alex, so being able to ask questions and improve in that way has been really beneficial.

I think we have a super competitive group and a lot of talent, so being able to learn a lot of things from Alex during preseason has been really helpful.”

(On winning LA Sports Person of the Year)…

“That was something super cool, and I would say it gave me a lot more confidence, but also allowed me to look back on the season I’ve had and be really proud of myself, but also to know that I have a lot of work to do and to continue to grow.”

[ACFC Head Coach Alex Straus]

(On today’s exhibition match against the Utah Royals)…

“These games are an important part of how we prepare for the season ahead. We played four NWSL opponents this off-season, which has been a great way to implement what we have worked on in training every day.

“We have several new players this season, and we have worked hard to put the pieces together that will bring us success and help us achieve our goals. A lot of the other teams have new faces as well so playing these friendly games can inform how we prepare as the season progresses.”

(Thoughts on this year’s preseason and progress so far)…

It’s a different intensity. The intensity of our training has been different. It’s, the competitiveness in the group has been different than I’ve felt before. So that, that’s, that’s, that’s, that’s the main difference.

Of course, we still have good days and bad days, but it is a little bit of a different vibe, but it is a different group. It’s a lot of new players and they’re trying to find each other and build their connections and the relationships that they need to build on the field and off the field.

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