Summer Cup: ACFC 2-0 Bay FC
Two wins in a row, and Angel City are gaining some momentum. With 6 points through the first two matchdays, we’re top of Group B, and one of only two teams that haven’t dropped any points (shootout winners only get 2 points instead of 3). It’s only the Top 4 teams that advance, so we’re in a good position to do so, but still need a result against San Diego in the last match of thr group stage. Already, though, I think that the Summer Cup was exactly what this team needed.
Impressions
There were stretches in this match where I felt like Angel City were in control of this match, in a way that I haven’t seen all season. Bu then there were also stretches that Bay took that control back. Bay FC actually outshot Angel City 14-10, and there are two things that are particularly concerning about that. The first is that ACFC didn’t manage a shot of any kind after the 62’ minute. The second is that Bay FC were without the two attackers they spent a LOT of money on (Kundananji and Oshoala at the Olympics), and their other co-leader in scoring also missed this match (Boade). On the other hand, Angel City were missing Leroux, but still had our top two goal contributors (Alyssa and Emslie) playing. Just based on the lineups, I’d have expected Angel City to take more shots.
Shots on Target is also a concern, as Angel City had 3 to Bay FC’s 6. Especially, in the first half, Alyssa, Vignola, and Spencer all had shots in good positions, but none of them were able to put the ball on frame. People talk about how much of goalscoring is confidence, and my interpretation of that is that if you don’t have confidence, you tend to overthink the shot and/or feel like you need to do something spectacular. But oftentimes, you don’t need the bending ball into the corner, just a nice, clean finish, and when you’re playing with confidence, you just hit the ball. All three of these misses looked like players that felt like they needed to do something special to score, while Emslie’s goal was from a simple, low, hard shot.
All of that being said, there were two stretches in this match, from the 35’-45’, and the start of the second half up to roughly the 62’ in which Angel City had some real dominance. During those stretches, Angel City outshot Bay 8 to 1. During that time, we were able to keep the ball in the attacking third and continue to generate chances, and if one of them didn’t work, then we’d go again. Emslie’s goal was scored during this second stretch. The trick is going to be playing at this level for closer to 90 minutes, but it’s something to build on. I think that the more Angel City can get a feel for those stretches, than the more frequent they can be.
Also, I just want to note that we finally got to see Casey Phair on the pitch. I thought that she brought some energy, but ultimately didn’t contribute much, although I think that a lot of that is that Bay were in control during her time on the field. She’s a player that I’m excited for, but increasingly, I think that she’s one for the future. She could be a monster talent, but the focus needs to be on developing her skill the right way. So I think that means that the focus right now needs to always be on what’s good for her, not what’s good for Angel City. For example, if we’re down in a match, and really need a goal, Becki Tweed could put her in. But always putting her into situations like that, where the other team has already parked the bus, is only going to make her frustrated and hurt her development. I talked earlier about how a lack of confidence can hurt goalscorers, and she doesn’t need to start her career with something like 10 games without a goal. So for me, it needs to be paramount that Phair is always put in a position to succeed at this point. And down the line, she’ll hopefully become the star we all want her to be, with a foundation to handle that inevitable pressure.
Goals
18’ Angel City - This goal comes from a free kick, earned by Fuller. She’s actually asking for the ball to be played into the channel, but Reid passes it to her feet instead. Fuller does a good job to shield the ball and gets the free kick on Angel City’s left. Emslie takes it with her left and bends a great ball into box. It’s right in that space that the goalie can’t quite get to it, but the defense is having to collapse. Reid gets a touch on it, and the ball rolls toward goal and comes off the post before Bay’s captain, Dorian Bailey, inadvertently knocks it into her own net. This was a slice of luck to be sure, but it’s a great free kick from Emslie, and reinforces my belief that it’s always good to force defenders to be running towards their own net.
54’ Angel City - Great goal. This goal starts almost 45 seconds before it is scored, with Alyssa winning the ball back high up on Angel City’s left. After winning the ball, she passes back to Curry, who passes back to Gorden, and Angel City builds out of the back. In total, there are 13 passes in the build up, and Angel City is able to break Bay’s initial press and keep possession until an opportunity presents itself. The ball ends up with Alyssa on the left wing again, but this time with space in front of her, and she carries the ball into the attacking third. She cuts to her right, and then fires in a pass to Bright, who has her back to goal, and a defender on her. In general, I’d like to see Bright control the space around her a little more, and in this case, the defender does force her backward, away from goal, but Bright does well to keep the ball. The off-the-ball movement at this moment is crucial, though. Alyssa and Spencer both drive at the goal, which pulls the Bay defenders toward goal, which takes pressure off Bright, and opens up space between the lines. Meanwhile, Emslie moves to her right, into that newly opened space. Bright finds Emslie, and she puts in a low shot through the defender’s legs and into the net. I love how Emslie immediately goes to celebrate with her teammates, especially acknowledging Alyssa and Bright for setting her up. This was a true team goal, with seven different ACFC players involved in the buildup. When we play out of the back, this is the kind of goal we want to score.
Conclusions
Angel City is in a really good position to advance, but no means guaranteed. However, even earning one point in the final game might be enough (it also might not be). But the surefire way to do it is to beat San Diego, and basically, we always want to beat the Wave. I think that a win here, and getting to the semifinals, will really give ACFC some positive momentum. Christen Press is also officially off the SEI list. And more signings have been promised, but have yet to materialize. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. First things first, and that’s beating San Diego.
That game is tonight at 7p Pacific at Titan Stadium and on Paramount+
Stats are from the NWSL