Summer Cup ACFC 0(5)-(3)0 San Diego Wave

First Thoughts

First, and foremost, we won and we got to see Christen Press back on the field, and everything else kind of pales in comparison. Really, I don’t know that anyone will actually remember too much besides those things. Angel City were a perfect 5 for 5 in the shootout, with Press and Alyssa both converting their shots, and Haračić making a big save against Amirah Ali. Angel City are moving on to the semifinals in Kansas City to play Gotham.

Impressions

San Diego came out with a very aggressive 4-2-4 formation with Morgan, Doniak, Jakobsson, and Sanchez all involved in the attack, and McCaskill and Colaprico in midfield. Honestly, I thought that this was going to play in Angel City’s favor in a big way. I thought that for sure the numerical advantage from our 4-2-3-1 meant that we were going to overrun their midfield. McCaskill, especially, is a player known for her offensive contributions rather then her ball winning ability (and in fact, she had two tackles and 0 interceptions in the match). San Diego did not have the numbers or the personnel and we should have completely dominated the midfield. But there were two longstanding Angel City trends that prevented this from happening.

The first is Angel City’s preference, if not insistence, to play up the wings. Obviously, you need to make use of the wide channels, but I think that too often Angel City tries to force the ball up the wings and gets pinned against the sideline. It’s harder to control the center, but there are also a lot more opportunities for different passes from the middle. When you bring it up the wings, though, the central midfielders have to come to those wider areas to support. Too often, I thought that the Angel City midfield was too expansive. If Angel City was attacking the middle instead of the wings, the central midfielders could have stayed more in position and exploited that numerical advantage.

The second is how Angel City drops so incredibly deep defending. We routinely see a striker coming all the way back to the 18 yard box, and our wingers coming almost to the endlines. Yes, everybody needs to help defend, but when you drop that deep, it invites pressure from the opposition. We had some success with long balls over the top to Bright and Alyssa, and had we kept them higher, I think that would have forced San Diego’s defenders back and isolated their two midfielders. Instead, we collapsed so much that when a ball was played out into midfield, their backline was high enough to clean it up. San Diego deserves credit for working really hard in this match. Their press was very effective, and we found it almost impossible to break their first line. Going into this tournament, I thought that San Diego was going to miss Girma and Sheridan the most, and it felt like this strategy was almost designed to mitigate those absences. If they can engage early, then opponents are never even going to get a chance to test their weakened defense. I understand that when San Diego is putting so much pressure on attacking, then the instinct is to get back and help, but I think that our attackers would have helped more by staying higher up the pitch. But it’s seemed to be part of Angel City’s blueprint since Day 1 that when it comes to defending, it’s all hands on deck (with the exception of McCaskill in the first two years, which I never understood).

Other Notes

I thought that this was Bright’s best game so far. She looked more dangerous than she ever has, and despite not getting on the scoresheet, she did get herself into good areas of the pitch, and I thought that she asserted herself on the game a little more. Hoping to see more of that.

Katie Johnson had a strange outing. She came on in the 74’ for Bright, but then came off in the 88’ for Press. Usually, taking off a sub is a clear sign that the manager is really, really dissatisfied with that player. There’s probably exceptions in this match, especially with Press being the one to come on, and the penalty shootout looming. Emslie, Alyssa, and Fuller would be the other attacking players that might have been taken off, but they all did take a shot in the shootout. Johnson wasn’t bad for her 14’, though, getting two shots. Fuller was the only player with more shots on Angel City, with 4. And as a side note, Fuller was also the only Angel City player to put a shot on goal.

And of course, Press. Despite coming on in only the 88’, Press also had two shots, and of course, she confidently converted her penalty as well. In that brief cameo, she showed her ability to find pockets of space in the box. Prior to her injury, I thought that Press often tried to do too much and make things happen on her own, but I also think that this Angel City team is better than the one from Year 1, especially on attack. Emslie, Leroux, and the Thompson sisters, just to name a few, were not on the team at that point, and I hope that they can do some of that heavy lifting this time around, giving Press the time to pick her moments.

Next up is the Summer Cup Semifinal vs. Gotham at CPKC Stadium and on Paramount+ today at 2pm