Angel City FC beat the Houston Dash in a 2-0 win at BMO stadium on Sunday afternoon, giving Angel City renewed hope for a NWSL tournament run.
Prior to Sunday’s match, Angel City FC was on a five game losing streak. The continuous losses hurt the club, and pushed them further away from grasping 8th place and a chance for the championship title. However, with their most recent win, they were able to stave off elimination and keep their tournament hopes alive.
During the first half, ACFC brought great intensity. They applied key pressure that rattled the Dash’s defense, leading to many turnovers and loose balls in attacking areas. Angel City outshot the Dash 14 to four in the first 45 minutes alone, keeping Houston Dash’s goalkeeper Abby Smith on her toes.
With the game scoreless going into the second half, Angel City came back onto the pitch with an intensified focus. They took advantage of Houston’s sloppiness in the midfield, capitalizing on chances to advance towards goal.
In the 52nd minute, Angel City forward Kennedy Fuller forced a Dash turnover in the midfield and sent a long through ball to the midfielder running down near the left side goal line, and midfielder Hina Sugita got to the ball on time to send a cross to the net. Dash goalkeeper Smith bobbled the save, pushing the ball to the feet of a crashing Fuller, allowing theACFC forward an easy one-time finish into the net to put Angel City up 1-0.
The Dash had 54.6% of possession throughout the game, but could not create many chances on net. They only had 10 shot attempts the entire game, compared to Angel City’s 20.
The closest equalizer chance Houston had was in the 63rd minute off a corner kick. A battle for the ball in the air sent an unconventional backspin for Dash defender Paige Nielsen to get a head on it. However, Nielsen was unable to convert, and the ball struck the crossbar and skimmed the goal line for a few moments before Angel City cleared it out.
One of the most highlight-reel worthy plays came in the 85th minute, when a long ball clear fell into the the feet of ACFC forward Jun Endo, who sent a beautiful back heel flick to a running defender Maiara Niehues. Niehues blew past a caught off guard Smith and buried an easy ball into the back of the net to put the LA-based team up by two.
A final scoring chance came for the Dash in the 92nd minute when a hand ball was called on ACFC defender Evelyn Shores. However, the call was overturned due to the new rules saying that when a ball hits the chest of the player first, then hits their hand, it cannot count towards a hand ball.
Angel City came out stronger on Sunday, displaying a high skill level that the Dash could not compete with. ACFC was in high attack mode the entire game, and it showed in their result.
With three new points added to their stats, Angel City moved up to 10th place. They’re still six points behind Racing Louisville sitting in 8th, but with the rate and game performance ACFC showed on Sunday, there is still hope for a postseason shot.