Angel City Football Club Ties Houston Dash 1-1 on the Road
September 11, 2022 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Angel City FC News Release
HOUSTON – Angel City Football Club drew the Houston Dash 1-1 on the road tonight, following goals by Houston forward María Sánchez and Angel City forward Simone Charley.
Most of the first half saw a back-and-forth battle, with Houston getting more scoring chances, but Angel City doing well to absorb and limit the Dash to less dangerous opportunities. The home team’s first real chance of the night came in the 29th minute, when midfielder Sophie Schmidt intercepted a pass by keeper DiDi Haračić intended for midfielder Dani Weatherholt. With Haračić out of goal Schmidt pounced and took a shot, which went well high.
The Dash opened the scoring in the 43rd minute. Midfielder Natalie Jacobs received the ball off a short corner kick by midfielder Marisa Viggiano and tapped it to forward María Sánchez. Sánchez took a few steps, found herself in space, and fired a hard shot to the far post, past a diving Haračić to bring the score to 1-0.
The second half was a faster paced, more transitional affair from the beginning, and it didn’t take long for Angel City to pull one back. In the 49th minute, defender Megan Reid sent a long ball over the top for forward Simone Charley, who had been lurking near the Dash’s defensive line all night. Charley picked up the ball, drove into the box, and beat Houston defender Katie Naughton. Keeper Jane Campbell went to ground to smother the ball, but bobbled it back into Charley’s path. Charley calmly dribbled past Campbell and tapped the ball into the open net to equalize.
The goal was Charley’s first in the regular season for Angel City.
Just a minute later, Houston came close to pulling ahead again when Sánchez placed a low, driven shot to the near post, but Haračić dove and blocked it out for a corner kick. They came close again in the 52nd minute, when Sánchez sent in a cross from the left toward forward Nichelle Prince, who got her head on the ball but sent it wide.
In the 60th minute, Angel City had another quality goal opportunity. From the endline, defender Ali Riley found midfielder Savannah McCaskill as she made a run into the area. With Campbell at the near post, she flicked a shot toward the far post with the outside of her right foot, but it bounced wide.
The two teams traded chances for the remainder of the half, with two final near misses by Houston coming late. In the 80th minute, forward Valérie Gauvin, who had subbed on a few minutes prior, one-timed a cross from Prince toward the near post, but sent her shot just wide. Then, in stoppage time, midfielder Bri Visalli won the ball, cut inside to drive into the box, and fired off a shot. Defender Paige Nielsen got in front of the ball, which deflected up and over the crossbar.
The match was the 150th NWSL appearance for Angel City defender Jasmyne Spencer, who has played in the league since its inception in 2013.
Angel City plays next this Wednesday, September 14, away at North Carolina at 4:00 p.m. PST.
POST-MATCH QUOTES
ACFC Head Coach Freya Coombe
On the game overall:
“We knew it was going to be a tight game. It was important for us to be well-organized defensively, try to force them wide and be able to get appropriate pressure on them in wide areas- especially trying to nullify Sánchez with her delivery to Ebony Salmon. For the most part, I felt that we dealt with that threat well.”
On Houston’s goal:
“The Dash goal was a great strike by [Maria] Sánchez. We needed to put more pressure early, but credit to her for being able to score from that angle and that distance.”
On Jasmyne Spencer’s performance defending María Sánchez and her leadership role:
“Jas defended Sánchez well throughout the game. She was able to deny her from getting on the dribble and getting her service, other than the goal she scored on the corner. I think we will look at that in our work on set pieces to be able to avoid a player having that much time and space.”
“Jas’s experience is absolutely massive. She is such a great personality to have on this team. She is really important for us and our group on this journey. Someone that has been in the league as long as she has, she has seen and done it all. So to be able to lean on that experience for some of the younger team members or players that haven’t been in this league before is really important. She is such a great leader in that way in terms of nurturing her teammates. We are very lucky and proud to have her as a part of Angel City.”
On the team’s offensive changes at halftime:
“We recognized the importance of getting results and the points out of the game. Credit to the players for digging deep. We were not able to get adequate pressure in the first half. Then Simone came out in the second half and worked incredibly hard to get greater pressure on the center backs and that allowed us to get a more compact shape behind the ball and then be able to release in wider areas.”
On the midfield:
“There were times when Houston was very good at pressing and also counterpressing. We failed to break that pressure by switching the point of attack. That is something that, in order for us to build a more substantive attack and be able to have more possession higher up the field, it is important for us to find that space on the weak side after a team that is counterpressing.”
On Simone Charley’s performance and goal:
“Simone has been working incredibly hard this season and has been doing everything right. Tonight we asked her at halftime to dig really deep and continue to press, and she was rewarded for that effort. Put pressure on, [keep] running through the players, and keep working hard.
“You often see with strikers that it is the case of getting that one and hopefully that sets her up for the remainder of the season.”
ACFC forward Simone Charley
On scoring her first Angel City FC and goal of the 2022 season:
“It was exciting, and I’m grateful for my teammates. The first half was pretty gritty for us. Going into the locker room, we were just trying to encourage each other and I received a lot of encouragement from my teammates and Freya. It really gave me more energy in the second half, which I appreciated.”
“The ball played over the top, being able to press and finish that off with the goal, was really exciting for me, especially being the first one of the season. Also, being able to do it in front of my family was really exciting.”
On her confidence moving forward in the final stretch:
“It felt really good to finally get that breakthrough. I’ve been knocking on the door for a while now. To be able to get that breakthrough was a nice little woosah moment and hopefully it’s the dam breaking. I can just live my life a little bit and hopefully score more goals, and I’m pretty excited about that.”
On playoff berth becoming more possible:
“As a team, we have the confidence and the ability to make the playoffs. For us, it’s about being ourselves for the rest of the season. We don’t have to be something we’re not or anything extra, we literally just have to be ourselves, and we can make the playoffs. It’s about knowing who we are and that if we bring ourselves to every match, we can make it.
“It’s about working hard for each other. What’s great about this team is we’ve had goals come from a lot of different people, and it’s because we are willing to do the hard work. For that reason, if we just give it our all every day, every match and leave it all on the line, we can get results. We’ve proven that if we are working hard, then everyone’s special qualities can show. Once that happens, it’s magical on the field.”
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