By Christine Espinoza
LA has a team and, if their first match of the season has shown: they are a team that will become a problem very quickly. LA welcomed Angel City FC with a sold-out crowd excitedly waving pink and black scarves at Banc Stadium. The energy at the team’s home stadium was exciting and electric, as was the game.
The fans would not have to wait long to witness Angel City’s first goal. It came off a conversion after Savannah McCaskill’s left corner kick was unanswered at the box and made it all the way to the right side where Jun Endo quickly capitalized on it and placed it right into Vanessa Gilles’s path who delivered a stunning header at the third minute. McCaskill and Endo would be instrumental in the second goal a mere 10 minutes later when McCaskill found Endo open on left field who ran the ball and delivered a clinical finish.
North Carolina, who had never lost their first game of the season and had a possession advantage in the first half, proved to be a strong opponent. Players like Debinha, Kerolin, and Merritt Mathias were a force to be reckoned with. Kerolin, and Mathias delivered the most compelling attempts to answer Angel City’s two goals but could not get past DiDi Haracic in the first half.
Angel City responded to these attempts primarily through Christen Press, who, although surrounded by as many as four defensive players found opportunities but was denied by Courage goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland.
Courage would inevitably get an answer to all their persistence in the beginning of the second half when Emily Gray, who in her NWSL debut delivered a pass to Debinha whose header found the back of Haracic’s net at the 51st.
The game continued to be a back and forth between both teams with Angel City becoming more comfortable with possession. Courage attempted to win back the game after the late substitutions of Diana Ordonez, Jorian Baucom, and Brianna Pinto. However, it would be a little too late and Angel City, unwilling to concede their first victory continued to press tightly on the team until the final whistle.
After the game Press would comment on the field saying that she felt the team had “showed a lot of maturity..and endured.”
Press is correct in pointing out this maturity and endurance as one compares their preseason games in the Challenge Cup where the team took many loses but finished their participation on a strong note with a win against the Portland Thorns to the team that played their first season’s game. While still a new team that is finding their strengths and learning from their past losses, they aren’t the team that lost to OL Reign just a couple of weeks ago. While the players attributed their win to fan energy (and it did help), something changed between that time and if this is what they can do in a matter of weeks, we are excited to see what they will do throughout their first season.
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