Angel City routs Thorns, clinches playoff berth

Heading into the regular season finale against the Portland Thorns, a whole lot of scenarios were staring down Angel City.

Not only was Angel City in position to make the playoffs, but it could finish as high as third place in the league standings. However, one simple task that Angel City needed to accomplish on Sunday afternoon was to win. That task however would be a tall order, as they hosted a Portland Thorns side that needed a win to clinch the NWSL Shield.

Angel City however made the objective look surprisingly easy. Carried by goals from M.A. Vignolia, Scarlett Camberos, Savannah McCaskill, Sydney Leroux and Jun Endo, Angel City had a rather easy time with the Thorns, and Angel ultimately accomplished what back in June looked impossible, as they earned its first-ever trip to the playoffs with the 5-1 win at BMO Stadium.

“To score five goals is incredible. It’s something that we’ve talked a lot about being efficient in the 18 yard box,” Angel City interim head coach Becki Tweed said. “We knew goal differential was going to matter. The team was super motivated, this week has been brilliant. We knew that people wrote us off, but no one in the room wrote each other off. We were all in it and we all believed in it. We knew we weren’t done. We’re always going to push to improve. There’s still so much more from this group. We’re peaking at the right time and that’s important. We’re going to push to continue to go forward in this competition.”

Aside from the win, Angel City also needed some results to go their way, and got just that. The two key results that benefitted Angel City the most was the North Carolina Courage’s 1-0 win over the Washington Spirit and the Kansas City Current’s 2-2 draw with Gotham FC. And the five goals scored by Angel City were all needed, as they enabled Angel City to hold off not just Gotham, but also the Orlando Pride on the goal-difference tie-breakers. All three teams finished with 31 points, but Orlando’s -1 goal differential left them as the odd team out, and while both Angel City and Gotham finished with the same goal differential, Angel City gets the fifth seed over Gotham due to its 31 goals being six better than Gotham. That books them a Friday night matchup with fourth-seeded OL Reign at Seattle’s Lumen Field, with the winner advancing to face NWSL Shield winner San Diego Wave FC on Nov. 5.

“We have thought about this moment since our first game and our first day of preseason, which was eight months ago. It’s really special to make the playoffs and do it at home in front of our fans.” Angel City’s Sarah Gorden said. “It was a crazy day because there were so many teams that were close. We were all trying to win and get the final spot. It was a really exciting and special day.”

After a slow start in which in conceded several Portland chances, Angel City finally got going starting in the 36th minute. Sarah Gorden played a ball to Sydney Leroux, who turned, took a touch and sent a ball left to Vignolia, who then made her move. Vignolia dribbled into the penalty area, outracing Natalia Kuikka in the process, then fired the left-footed shot that got past keeper Bella Bixby and went in at the far post to give Angel City the lead.

Still, Angel City knew one goal alone likely would not be enough, as they continued to push, and would ultimately be rewarded in the 38th minute. Claire Emslie held the ball just outside of the penalty area on the left side near the end line, Emslie finally took the ball into the box, then crossed to the back post and Camberos outjumped Meghan Klingenberg to head a ball into the back net to double the Angel City advantage, and they took that advantage into the locker room.

Angel City continued to keep the pressure on during the second half. Angel City got goa number three just two minutes into the second half, as Emslie back-heeled a ball to Vignolia, who then dribbled towards the end line, then played a short cross into the six-yard box and McCaskil touched a ball that snuck past Bixby near post. However, it was the fourth goal in the 51st minute that blew the roof off BMO Stadium. McCaskill sprung Camberos down the right side, Camberos got to the ball, found herself one-on-one with Klingenberg, then made her move, taking the ball towards the end line. Camberos took the shot that was parried by Bixby, the ball floated upward and Leroux attempted a bicycle kick with her right foot and the ball sailed over both Bixby and Kuikka and into the far post net.

Portland managed to prevent the shutout in the 79th minute, as Angel City keeper Angelina Anderson parried away a Sophia Smith cross, but Hina Sugita chased the ball down, took a touch and slotted the shot past Anderson to pull a goal back for Angel City. However, any thought of a Portland comeback was nullified by Sugita’s fellow countrywoman Endo. Alyssa Thompson got to a loose ball, dribbled into the middle lane, played Endo into the penalty area and Endo blasted the left-footed shot past Bixby to restore the four-goal advantage.

“When we play our best and feel like we did today, we show that we could beat any team in the league. We displayed that tonight,” Vignolia said.

The win and the clinching of a playoff berth caps off a whirlwind season for Angel City FC. It was back in June that Angel City was languishing near the bottom of the league standings and as a result made a coaching change, replacing Freya Coombe with current interim head coach Becki Tweed. Yet no one could’ve imagined what could’ve transpired. Tweed’s first match, a Saturday afternoon match on the road against San Diego back on June 17 was a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Wave FC, that set off an unbeaten streak that stretched for two months and 12 matches that got them back into the playoff race. The end of that streak, a 1-0 home loss on October 2 threatened to be Angel City’s undoing, but they rebounded with its biggest win of the season, a 2-1 road win against the Houston Dash, with McCaskill scoring perhaps the most important goal in franchise history to date, as her stoppage time goal gave Angel City the win in that match and set up Sunday’s scenario which ultimately played out in its favor.

“These last 12 to 13 games, it has definitely been a test for us to stay as together as possible,” Vignolia said. “That was the biggest thing today is bringing the energy for everybody, not just yourself. We’re looking at something bigger.”