Fans get their money's worth in a thrilling Angel City FC 2-1 Home Opener Victory
Angel City FC #18 Jun Endo (Attacker) scored a goal to give her team a 2-1 lead against the North Carolina Courage./Photo by Nick Koza/TGSportstv1.
LOS ANGELES, CA - Los Angeles has welcomed the NWSL, or more accurately, the NWSL has welcomed Los Angeles. It was more hype than you would have believed for the expansion team Angel City FC's first home game. The ACFC was scheduled to officially open the Banc of California Stadium with a projected sellout of over 20k, and boy was it ever a sellout crowd for the ages. During the off-season, over 15k season tickets were sold before a ball was kicked. They returned home content after witnessing history and the home team's 2-1 victory over the North Carolina Courage.
Today was both an event and a buildup to a soccer match, as is customary for any premiere in Los Angeles. It had it all—an all-day fan festival, a concert with a marching band, and a scorching new intro. We'll discuss more about that in a few days, but for now, let's talk about the game!
It didn't take long for the celebration to spill over into the game when the season's first goal was scored. Jun Endo had wonderful movement before passing the ball to Vanessa Gilles, who finished it off to give Angel City their first goal of the NWSL regular season and take the lead early.
Endo persisted in leaving her mark on the game, finding plenty of room to move around in, and eventually succeeding in getting the ball played to her. Once she had it, scoring was simply a matter of how she wanted to accomplish it. She went around the goalie to the other post to put the ball in and give Angel City a double-digit advantage.
The initial rush of excitement dissipated as anticipated, but the team didn't let up. They didn't score again before the half, but they played outstanding defense and kept up the pressure in attack. The team's success in the second half depended on their ability to sustain a little bit more of that energy and play well for the last 45 minutes.
You are probably unfamiliar with the mayhem that is the NWSL if you thought this would be as simple as the first half suggested. Debinha is one of several talented members of the team Courage. She scored a goal for the visitors early in the second half after receiving a perfectly placed ball.
Angel City managed to prevent the Courage from scoring the equalizer and maybe ruining what was a magnificent night in Los Angeles despite being pushed to the absolute end. The ACFC came out tonight to warn the entire league after some difficult patches during the Challenge Cup. This team is not the same one. What's so unsettling is that the squad we witnessed tonight isn't even fully healthy yet. They had all bite and no bark.