(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: The ACFC did what they had to do to remain eligible for a postseason playoff berth in the National Women’s Soccer League Postseason Tournament. They brought everything to the table and used interim Head Coach, Becki Tweed’s authorization for a full-scale attack on their opponent, the Houston Dash.
The big “Keys” to winning this highly important match, especially since it was on the road, were Rookie, Alyssa Thompson and the serious-minded veteran, Savannah McKaskill. They were credited with scoring their goals respectively, Thompson at the 68th minute after being subbed in. While McCaskill’s came at the 90th + 1 minute of “stoppage” time.
ADVERTISEMENT
Now, just one last regular season match-up lies ahead of them as they face another “must-win” battle against the Portland Thorn at the anticipated “sold out” BMO Stadium this coming Sunday, 10/15 at 2:00 pm. Portland is one of the top teams scheduled to compete in the upcoming NWSL Playoffs. Tickets have been moving very fast for this one, so make sure tickets may still be available.
Now let’s take a good review of their match from last Sunday as prepared by the Club’s outstanding Communications/PR Team..
ANGEL CITY FOOTBALL CLUB DEFEATS HOUSTON DASH ON THE ROAD TO REMAIN IN NWSL PLAYOFF CONTENTION
HOUSTON (October 8, 2023) – Angel City Football Club (ACFC) defeated the Houston Dash 2–1 on the road tonight to keep their playoff hopes alive in a tight contest for the top six slots in the table. Forward Alyssa Thompson and midfielder Savannah McCaskill were the scorers for Angel City, with midfielder Andressa recording Houston’s lone goal.
The first 15 minutes of the match saw Angel City heavily dominate possession, including several stretches spent in and around Houston’s 18 yard box, but those attacks yielded few dangerous chances. Midway through the half, the home team began to see more of the ball and started stringing together attacks.
The Dash had a near miss in the 40th minute when midfielder Sophie Schmidt received a short sideways pass from defender Caprice Dydasco and lobbed it toward goal. The ball bounced off the crossbar and fell to forward María Sánchez in the six-yard box, but she sent her shot just wide of the near post.
Houston didn’t waste their next opportunity. In the 44th minute, Sánchez beat defender Jasmyne Spencer on the left wing to find midfielder Marisa Viggiano, who split two defenders with a through ball to forward Nichelle Prince. With midfielder Andressa making a central run into the box, Prince sent a sideways ball on the ground to the edge of the 18, which Andressa received and sent into the back of the net with a low, driven shot.
The Dash stayed on the front foot to start the second half, getting a handful of chances within the first five minutes. Prince had two attempts in the 46th and 48th minutes from near the edge of the 18, missing the first one and sending the second to keeper Angelina Anderson.
ADVERTISEMENT
In the 51st minute, Angel City got their first look of the half when McCaskill made a central run up the midfield into space and found forward Claire Emslie on the right. Emslie dribbled up the wing and sent a cross into the six-yard box, which Campbell parried. McCaskill, continuing her run, took a crack at the rebounded ball, but it fell straight to Campbell as the keeper was still on the ground from her initial block.
LA continued to find chances as the half went on, but none looked particularly threatening until the 64th minute, when defender Sarah Gorden sent a long ball over the top into the box, which Houston defender Katie Lind initially blocked. McCaskill again pounced on the rebound and sent a powerful headed shot to the upper 90, which Campbell made an impressive leaping block to stop.
Angel City got back in the game when forward Alyssa Thompson, who had subbed in for forward Scarlett Camberos in the 65th minute, equalized in the 68th minute. With Houston’s defense stretched in a moment of transition, the LA-native ran onto a central through pass from midfielder Savannah McCaskill, sprinted into the box, and easily beat Campbell as she came off her line.
The two teams traded chances over the final 20 minutes of the game, with a 90th minute attempt by forward Diana Ordoñez, which Anderson made an impressive diving save against, coming closest for Houston. Forward Katie Johnson, who had subbed in for forward Sydney Leroux in the 86th minute, had a 91st minute header from just outside the six-yard box that came close.
The visitors sealed the deal in the first minute of stoppage time. Anderson booted a long ball forward to forward Clarisse Le Bihan, who sent a flicked header into the path of Thompson. Thompson dribbled a few steps to create space and found Johnson ahead of her to the right. Johnson sent a square ball into the center of the box, where McCaskill was making a run and one-timed the ball past Campbell.
The win puts Angel City in eighth place heading into the final week of the season, just one point out of playoff position. Their final match is a home game against Portland next Sunday, October 15 at 2:00 p.m. PT. That game will stream live on Paramount+.
[POST-MATCH QUOTES]
[ACFC Midfielder Savannah McCaskill]
{Thoughts on the match}…“My first thought is that three points is absolutely massive. It keeps us in playoff contention. We knew going into today that three points was the job. We couldn’t settle for anything less than that. We had to keep our playoff hopes alive and it took every single person to step out on the field today to get the job done.
“It felt similar to last week where we really put them under pressure and some chances weren’t falling our way. But late in the second half we were able to get the opening goal through Alyssa and then we were able to break through to get the winning goal right at the end.”
“I think it’s just a testament to this team that we’re willing to work for 90 plus minutes and we’ll go to battle for each other. We’ll run to the end and good things will happen. And tonight good things happened.
ADVERTISEMENT
{On the message at halftime}…“We just needed to play a little bit more. I thought we forced the issue a bit in the first half. That was the message at halftime. We were playing over the top a bit too much when it wasn’t on and we needed to kind of settle the game down and take control of it a bit more. I thought we were able to do that in the second half.”
{On her game-winning goal}…“I saw K.Jo [Katie Johnson] pick up the ball on the right side just outside the sticks. I saw they shifted all the way over, and I made it later on in the box. She played a great ball across the six for me to be able to put it in the back of the net. But, every single person was a part of that. We grinded till the end to make sure that went in the back of the net.”
{On the overall performance looking to next week}…“I think our performance showed that there wasn’t a single person that stepped on the field tonight that didn’t think that we were going to get three points. And I think that’s just the mentality of this group. We needed three points last week. We didn’t get it and the job done and there was a belief even when we went down a goal that we were still in the game, that we were going to come back, we were going to find a way and we were going to grind until the very last whistle. And we did that.
“We grinded, we stayed together, we put in tackles, we sprinted, we went forward and threw bodies in the box in both boxes. I think that’s the mentality that we’re going to need to carry on into next week against a really good Portland side, who I’m sure will be competing for The Shield.
“It’s our job to beat them at home and put ourselves in the playoffs. And so I think it’s just the mentality that this group has shown for the last few months and it’s really put us in this position and as athletes and as pros and top, top players, we want to be in that position. We want to be able to show up in front of our fans and put ourselves in the playoffs. And so going into this week, that’s the mentality that we have to continue having.”
[ACFC Forward Alyssa Thompson]
{On dealing with the pressure of a must-win game}…“I think we go into every game wanting to win the three points so we know there’s pressure and I think we kind of thrive off it. We’ve been needing to win all season. I think our whole team wants to win and we’re here to fight for it and we’re ready.”
[ACFC Interim Head Coach Becki Tweed]
{On subbing in Alyssa Thompson}…“We have a player of Alyssa’s quality to bring off the bench and give us everything she has for 30 to 35 minutes. And she came in and changed moments of the game for us tonight. I think it was a really important moment for her as well.
“She showed her true quality tonight. Her ceiling is so high and she still has so much to grow. But to come on and be a game changer at the age of 18 is a big ask in a big game. And that’s what she did. So really proud of her. Really proud of how the team always believed. We always believed, and I think that’s massive.
“We came in at halftime and we talked about being way more calm and composed. I think we let it get to us in the first half a little bit. We settled down and we believed from the minute we stepped back out that we could win the game.”
{On the message to the team after they went down 0-1}…“We were just not composed in the first half. We played too rushed, too quickly. And I think once we saw that, we knew that we were going to create opportunities. Something we’ve shown over the last couple of months is we’re always going to create chances. It’s just about taking them.”
“We knew we just needed to get one goal and then the next goal was going to come. We just stayed patient and that was really important. Composure was the key to the result tonight.”
{On the other substitutions made late in the game}…“Something that I’ve spoken about consistently over the last few weeks is that it’s a squad effort. Players that see the field, don’t see the field, start – their impact is massive. And I think the impact of all of our subs tonight and even the players that didn’t play, everyone’s role is really important.
“Everybody stuck to the game plan and executed their role really well throughout the week. We’ve always believed. We just need to look after ourselves and come in and believe. We’ll take that into next week and we’re already looking forward to what’s next.”
