Tag: Angel City FC

NWSL Weekend Take-Off: Shim returns as league parity verges on parody

The only predictable thing in the NWSL is its unpredictability

The National Women’s Soccer League is not a normal league.

Last week, the major through-line for this column was that the league’s six playoff teams were already threatening to separate themselves. This past weekend’s schedule paired the teams in playoff places with teams on the outside, and could have more or less sealed a haves and have-nots stretch run (give or take the Houston Dash clinging to the contending pack).

Instead:

The “we are SO back!” vibes are off the charts.

The teams entering the weekend sitting seventh or worse went 3W-2D-1L against the top six. The Kansas City Current and Orlando Pride got road wins against the Portland Thorns and Washington Spirit (arguably the two most consistently good teams in the NWSL in 2023). The Chicago Red Stars got a shutout! Up is down, left is right. That’s our league.

We talk all the time about NWSL parity, but this was parity to the point of parody. Of course the NWSL had a weekend where the teams that can’t win all rise up to beat the teams that can’t lose.

This league knows no other way to be.

NWSL Weekend Take-Off: Top-of-table clash delivers, crunch time arrives for playoff outsiders

The game of the year may have already happened

The World Cup break isn’t quite here yet, but for this NWSL season, it feels like we’ve hit an inflection point.

The 13th round of matches is clearly past the halfway point in a 22-game season, but it does serve as a sort of act break for the drama that is this league. With players leaving for the World Cup, it’s a moment to take stock on where teams are, and what the stretch run might start to look like.

In short, we really have two groups: a top seven who should be in the battle for six playoff spots through the end of the season, and a bottom five whose hopes are already surprisingly dim.

That might seem harsh on Racing Louisville, just three points out of that top seven, but consider this: the San Diego Wave hold the final playoff spot, and their current points-per-game (PPG) pace has them on course for a 34-point total.

Louisville would need 19 points from their final nine games to match that total, which is 2.11 PPG. A hypothetical team on 2.11 PPG through 13 games this season would have 27 points and be two points clear of the Portland Thorns, who have been outstanding this season.

Barring a collapse from the playoff contenders (none of whom look like they have a lengthy losing run on their bingo card), the teams on the outside have already hit their It’s Go Time moment.

Take it from Michelle Cooper and Alyssa Thompson: Hotshot is disgusting

This looks like some vile stuff

Hotshot better be effective, because it sure seems like a horrific thing to drink.

That was a key takeaway from the weekend in the NWSL, which saw the top two picks in this year’s draft fall victim to the miracle cramp cure/vile concoction made by Satan himself known as Hotshot.

On Saturday night, Kansas City Current forward Michelle Cooper went down with a cramp late in her team’s 2-1 win over the Orlando Pride.

On came the training staff with a little pick-me-up in the form of a Hotshot, which bills itself as a scientifically proven way to “relieve muscle soreness before it starts and stop muscle cramps in their tracks.”

On the sports nutrition website The Feed, the full Hotshot process is broken down in detail:

  • You feel a cramp coming on or starting.
  • You drink HOTSHOT which is a super spicy shot.
  • HOTSHOT overwhelms the nerves in your mouth and throat
  • Within 30 seconds your newly stimulated nerves stop the signal from going to your muscle to tell it to cramp and starts sending out a calming signal.
  • Cramps cease for up to 8 hours.

The night after Cooper’s first and last Hotshot, the first pick in the 2023 draft, Angel City star Alyssa Thompson, had her own encounter with the devil’s juice.

Cooper, who has played with Thompson with U.S. youth national teams, made sure to notify her friend about the dangers of Hotshot, which Thompson then experienced firsthand the following evening.

Thompson was asked after the game if she saw the video of Cooper from the night before, to which she replied: “Yes! That is why I did not want the Hotshot.”

She continued: “I watched that video today and I texted [Cooper] and I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve never had one of those. Thank God I won’t have one.’

“And then today I cramped and my trainer was like, ‘You want one?’ and I was like no. And they were like, ‘You need to have it.’ So then I had it and it was really gross. I did not like it at all.”

As NWSL players trashed the taste of its product, Hotshot responded on Twitter, saying “30 seconds of heat is worth 90 minutes of pain free game time.”

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NWSL Weekend Take-Off: McKeown, Spirit back atop table after parity-driven week

There are no days off in the NWSL

When people talk about how competitive the NWSL is, this is exactly the kind of week they’re talking about.

The top six teams from last week’s standings took on the bottom six, and rather than the gap between the haves and the have-nots growing, we saw the league’s parity on full display. Two teams entering the weekend in playoff position lost to teams that were out of the mix, with the San Diego Wave falling in the Chanclásico and NJ/NY Gotham FC stumbling against Racing Louisville.

Meanwhile, the Washington Spirit went top of the table, but only after coming from 2-0 down against a Kansas City Current team that sits in last place (probably not for much longer though, it must be said). The Portland Thorns, who are currently in second place, were pushed extremely hard by the 11th-placed Chicago Red Stars.

There are truly no days off in this league. Let’s get into the action.

Angel City FC fires head coach Freya Coombe

The club has opted for a change after Coombe was in charge for a season and a half

Angel City FC has fired head coach Freya Coombe, the club announced on Thursday.

Assistant coach Becki Tweed will act as interim head coach until a permanent replacement is announced.

Coombe took charge of Angel City prior to the club’s expansion season in 2022, joining after a stint coaching NJ/NY Gotham FC. Angel City was in playoff contention for most of last season but ultimately fell short, finishing eighth in the 12-team NWSL.

This season Angel City has gone backwards, as it currently sits in 11th place with a 2W-3T-6L record.

“Freya assumed the role of leading an expansion club with some of the most ambitious goals in all of sports and embraced this immense responsibility head on with strength, patience, and humility,” general manager Angela Hucles said.

“She established a strong culture and work ethic that helped build the foundation on which we will grow. After considerable deliberation and evaluation of where we are in our season, we have made the difficult decision to make a change.”

Angel City has been hit hard by injuries this season, particularly in attack: Simone Charley suffered a major knee injury early in the season, while Jun Endo just went down with a knee injury of her own. Sydney Leroux only just returned after missing the first half of the season while Christen Press is still out after an ACL tear suffered a year ago.

In response to her dismissal, Coombe posted a message on social media thanking fans, players and the club for the chance to coach one of the league’s most high-profile franchises.

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NWSL Weekend Take-Off: NC Courage create a masterpiece, standings stay tight

Kerolin, Adriana, Borges, oh my!

Just like that, the NWSL regular season is halfway over after the 11th round of games finished up Sunday night.

As is typical for this particularly wild league, the top of the table is comically close. The North Carolina Courage, in sixth place at the time this article was published, have multiple scenarios in which they could end up in first place by next Sunday night. Next weekend’s games feature the top six against the bottom six, and there’s one set of results that could see three teams tied on 20 points, followed by four more on 19. Last year’s potential seven-way tie for first could once again loom over us in September, and that doesn’t even account for improving teams like Racing Louisville or the Orlando Pride.

That’s the big picture. Getting more granular on the week that was, it was a great week to be a Brazilian attacker, and a not-so-great week if you happen to play for a team in the bottom three.

Here we go:

NWSL Weekend Take-Off: KC Current gets tough, Angel City stumbles

The going is tough, and the tough are about to get going

The NWSL’s halfway line is in sight, and not far beyond it we can make out the faintest outline of what this year’s playoff race is going to look like.

After 10 games, the lucky teams are starting to be found out, and the tiers that have started to form broadly conform with the vibe around each of the 12 teams in the league.

For the Take-Off at least, this is what is appearing on the distant horizon:

  • Contenders: Portland Thorns, San Diego Wave, Washington Spirit, NJ/NY Gotham FC, OL Reign
  • Hopefuls: Houston Dash, North Carolina Courage
  • Still in the mix: Racing Louisville
  • Time to get moving: Orlando Pride, Chicago Red Stars, Angel City FC, Kansas City Current

There’s still wiggle room in here, of course, and through a weekend that extended out into a weird Monday night match, we saw teams threaten to move up and down the ladder. The Reign, mired in about a month of very inconsistent performances and results, may only be in the Contender tier based on past results and the quality of their roster. Kansas City and Chicago, meanwhile, are showing a pulse.

We’re both a long way from the playoffs (summer hasn’t started yet!), and yet also, teams have a dozen games to get the job done. Grab your lucky pine cone while we figure out where things are headed.

‘I didn’t know if I’d wear this jersey again’ – Leroux emotional after scoring on injury return

Leroux scored just 12 minutes into her first appearance in nearly a year

An emotional Sydney Leroux admitted she wasn’t sure if she would ever play for Angel City FC again after she marked her return from injury with a goal.

Leroux was traded to Angel City last summer but made just three appearances for the club before suffering an ankle injury that kept her out for nearly a year.

The striker finally made her return to the pitch against the Chicago Red Stars on Monday night, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute with her team down 2-0. Just 12 minutes later, she got on the end of an Alyssa Thompson cross to halve the deficit in an eventual 2-1 defeat.

It was Leroux’s 40th career NWSL goal, and it made her only the third player in league history to score for six different teams

Speaking to CBS after the game, the 33-year-old held back tears as she admitted she was unsure if she’d be able to return to the pitch.

“Obviously it’s been super emotional,” she said. “I didn’t know if I was going to put on this jersey again. So it was really cool to get out there and score.”

Asked what she was thinking when Thompson got on the ball, Leroux said: “That it’s going to get to me somehow and that I’m going to get there first.”

“I think I owe a lot to the fans,” she added. “I came here last year and I was supposed to make a difference. And I could only play like a game and a half. And so I’m just happy that I could show up today as much as I possibly could.”

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Angel City signs France, Lyon midfielder Amandine Henry

Angel City just added a serial winner in Henry

Amandine Henry is coming back to the NWSL.

The longtime France midfielder has signed with Angel City, agreeing to a three-year deal (with an option for a fourth) shortly after leaving Lyon. She will be eligible to play for Angel City once the transfer window re-opens on June 28.

“I enjoyed my previous seasons in the NWSL because of the level of play, the dedication of the fans and great teammates, so I am excited to now be a part of Angel City,” Henry, who played for the Portland Thorns in 2016 and 2017, said in a team press release. “I can’t wait to be a part of a new team, help write history, and win with the club.”

“Amandine is a player who has competed at the highest and most competitive levels,” added Angel City GM Angela Hucles Mangano. “She has led for both her club and country. Her quality of football performance and commitment to the success of our team will make her an invaluable part of our roster.”

Henry has 93 caps for France and has amassed an unreal number of winner’s medals over the years. During two spells with Lyon, she was a part of 13 different Division 1 Féminine winners, adding in seven Champions League trophies and eight Coupe de France victories. With Portland, she won the 2016 NWSL Shield and the 2017 NWSL championship.

Henry addressed her departure from Lyon in a recent Instagram post, saying that Lyon had informed her they didn’t intend to give her much playing time amid some fairly significant roster upheaval.

Experience, quality in Angel City midfield

Angel City had received some critiques for a lack of proven midfield depth in 2022 and 2023, but have moved to address that with big names. First, they signed U.S. women’s national team star Julie Ertz in April, bringing her back to the game nearly two years after initially trading for her NWSL rights during their expansion build-up.

Adding Henry to the mix will immediately give them a formidable central midfield featuring two of the biggest names in the sport, but it won’t happen right away. With Ertz presumed to be on course for a USWNT World Cup spot, the duo probably won’t be paired up long enough to build cohesion until well after the World Cup.

Henry’s status with France is also a factor here. Former coach Corinne Diacre clashed repeatedly with Henry, but was driven out after a player revolt. Henry has been locked out for some time, but with new manager Hervé Renard working to repair bridges with many established veterans — and a shortage of proven defensive midfielders in the mix — the 33-year-old could be in line for a recall.

In any case, Henry’s short-term future with Angel City will see her join a team in need of some help. Freya Coombe’s side has won just once in their last 10 matches in all competitions, suffering some particularly tough results that include dropping points in stoppage time three different times and being routed by OL Reign.

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Angel City boss Coombe insists Ertz will be fit for USWNT World Cup roster

The midfielder has missed her team’s past two games with a thigh injury

Angel City head coach Freya Coombe believes Julie Ertz will be fit for the World Cup after the midfielder missed her team’s past two games with a thigh injury.

In her team’s most recent match, a 4-1 loss to OL Reign on Saturday, Ertz did not participate in warm-ups, indicating she likely had no chance of playing despite being in the matchday squad.

Time is of the essence for the 31-year-old, who is aiming to make the U.S. women’s national team World Cup squad after only recently returning from nearly two years away from the game.

Ertz has played just three times for Angel City after she signed in April, most recently appearing on May 13 in a loss to the Washington Spirit.

With less than a month until the USWNT World Cup roster is announced, Coombe said she is still confident that Ertz will be fit enough for selection.

“She will get there,” Coombe told the Los Angeles Times. “There’s one thing that I’ve learned about [in] my short time working with her is just her mentality. I think her mentality is such that she will absolutely get there.”

“I was surprised at the level that she came in at — in a good way,” Coombe added. “I do think that there’s another level for her to go in terms of her match fitness and just being to be up to speed with the games. There’s more room for her to go and then getting to that fifth gear.”

After Ertz was recalled to the USWNT in March, head coach Vlatko Andonovski cautioned that she wouldn’t be able to simply walk into her previous role as the team’s unquestioned starter at holding midfielder.

“Nothing is going to be given,” said Andonovski. “I also have to say, we’ve been very pleased with Andi Sullivan and her progression, so Julie coming in doesn’t mean that everyone moves on the side and Julie gets into that spot. I said earlier, she needs to come in, she needs to prove herself.”

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