This time, Angel City aim to play spoiler in front of a big crowd.
Angel City FC will continue their breakneck pace to wrap up the NWSL regular season with another momentous clash, this one a SoCal rivalry game against San Diego Wave FC on Saturday, to inaugurate the brand-new Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego.
It’s a quick turnaround for Angel City, who narrowly lost, 1-0, to the North Carolina Courage in North Carolina on Wednesday. ACFC had shouts for at least one penalty, possibly two, but those appeals fell on deaf ears during the game and they couldn’t generate the goals they needed from the run of play. The loss is a setback, but with four games left in the regular season, Angel City have it all to play for, remarkably sitting just five points behind San Diego in the standings, and just two points out of the last playoff spot. They can still make the playoffs this season!
San Diego, meanwhile, are in a better spot in the standings, 3rd place, but it’s all relative given how tight the table is at the moment. They’ve been good this season, but are coming off a wild 4-3 loss at the Washington Spirit last weekend, and they certainly don’t have a playoff spot wrapped up. Given how big the crowd is expected to be, 32,000, they could rise to it or wilt in front of so many. But they’ve also been healthy lately and I would not expect them to be flat.
The situation will be a reversal of sorts for Angel City, who have mostly been on the friendly side of huge crowds this year. But they are a team that seems to feed on the emotion of the crowd, and I expect a sizable number of Angel City fans in attendance. This is their chance to spoil the party for their local rivals, but also a chance to celebrate soccer and get a result in their quest to reach the postseason. Bring it on!
Injuries/absences:
Angel City:
- Sarah Gorden (knee) — OUT
- Christen Press (ACL – SEI) — OUT
- Vanessa Gilles (hip) — OUT
- Sydney Leroux (ankle) — OUT
- M.A. Vignola (illness) — OUT
- Katie Cousins (knee) — OUT
- Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel (ankle) — OUT
- Tyler Lussi (suspended) — OUT
Wave FC:
- Kayla Bruster (foot) — OUT
- Amirah Ali (knee) — QUESTIONABLE
How to Watch:
Saturday’s match between Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC will be streamed on Paramount+ in the United States and streamed on Twitch in the rest of the world. The broadcast is scheduled to start at 7 pm PT with kickoff to come minutes later.