There is widespread agreement in Angel City’s front office that this year, the club’s fourth in the NWSL, is going to be a significant upgrade from its first three. The difference comes over how to describe that.
President Julie Uhrman prefers “a new chapter” while sporting director Mark Parsons likes “Angel City 2.0.”
“My words are 2.0,” Parsons said. “I’m just telling you. It’s version two.”
They were both right. Because while the operating system still needs a few updates, the opening chapter had a better ending than the two that preceded it with Angel City rallying for a 1-1 tie Sunday with the San Diego Wave at BMO Stadium.
Angel City lost it last two season openers.
“A tie is not a win. But in a lot of ways, it did feel good because we created a lot of chances,” captain Sarah Gorden said. “Obviously, there’s a ton of things we need to clean up. It’s the first game.”
Gia Corley opened the scoring for the Wave in the fifth minute; Alyssa Thompson matched that for Angel City nine minutes into the second half.
“The season opener is always a really, really difficult one,” interim coach Sam Laity said. “You’re not sure what you’re gonna get. You’ve spent eight weeks in preseason and you get into the first game of the season, and everyone’s got plans to get punched in the face.”
So if it did nothing else, Angel City proved it can take a punch.
“What we got from the players was a very, very resilient team and resilient individuals,” Laity added. “There were times today when we were under pressure and we held strong. The resilience will keep us in good stead as we move forward throughout the season.”
The crowd was announced at 19,728 for the sun-splashed matinee, making it the first Angel City home opener that didn’t sell out.
And that wasn’t the only bad development for Angel City. Less than 24 hours before kickoff the team learned it would be without veteran forward Sydney Leroux indefinitely. Leroux, who shared the club scoring lead with seven goals last season, announced on social media that she was taking a mental-health break.
“After a lot of reflection, I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from soccer for my mental health,” she wrote on Instagram. “Anyone who knows me knows I’m a fighter — I always have been. I take pride in pushing through, in showing up, in giving everything I have. But right now, I owe it to myself and my children to take a step back and take care of me.”
“This isn’t goodbye,” she added. “I will be back.”
The post appeared to catch Angel City by surprise. The club, which signed Leroux, 34, to a three-year contract extension in October, didn’t issue a statement until late Sunday morning, and only then after being contacted by The Times.
“Angel City FC fully supports Sydney Leroux in her decision to prioritize her mental health and family,” a spokesperson wrote in a text message. “As an organization we deeply value the importance of our players’ mental health and well being and we are with her every step of the way.”
Leroux was one of three World Cup veterans who didn’t suit up for Angel City’s season opener, but the team knew the other two would be unavailable. Defender Ali Riley, who made just three starts last season, and forward Jun Endo, who missed last season entirely after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during the preseason, are both on the season-ending injury list.
Despite the name, the list is intended primarily to give teams salary-cap relief because the injured players can be returned to the active roster at any point. For the time being, however, Angel City is without three players who combined for 26 World Cup appearances, a valuable source of experience for a team that started six players aged 23 and under Saturday, one of the youngest lineups in NWSL history.
The season wasn’t even five minutes old before Angel City fell behind, with a wide-open Corley taking a pass from Delphine Cascarino in the center of the box, then sending a right-footed shot by keeper Angelina Anderson from about six yards out for her first NWSL goal.
If Angel City needed a wake-up call, that might have been it because it was the more dangerous team for long stretches of the game even though San Diego dominated in time of possession. Angel City had two chances at an equalizer in the 19th minute when first Claire Emslie, then Thompson, were stopped on outstanding saves from Wave keeper Kailen Sheridan.
Fourteen minutes later a diving Sheridan denied Thompson again, reaching out to take the ball off Thompson’s right foot deep in the box on a one-on-one situation.
But Angel City kept up the pressure and was finally rewarded when the 20-year-old Thompson got loose on another breakaway in the 54th minute, this time getting the ball by Sheridan and into the side netting near the far post to tie the score. Midfielder Kennedy Fuller, 18, who played an outstanding game, got her first NWSL assist on the goal.
“She hyped me up at halftime and I felt more confident after that,” Thompson said.
Midfielder Kennedy Fuller, 18, who played an outstanding game, got her first NWSL assist on the goal and Anderson made the score stand up with five saves.
Asked what he took away from the game, Laity smiled and said “A few more gray hairs.”
Then he turned serious. Angel City may have gotten just a point, but if he could bottle the way the team played and uncork it at times throughout the eight-month season, he’d take that offer.
“This league is absolutely brutal,” he said. “For us to show the resilience and determination that we did coming back from an early goal was very, very good. We’ll be tapping into that the rest of season.”
