Angel City remains undefeated after 2-1 victory over Houston Dash

LOS ANGELES – Riley Tiernan lifted Angel City Football Club to a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dash Friday night before 13,896 fans at BMO Stadium. 

Tiernan’s game-winning goal extends ACFC’s winning streak to three, adding to the buzz that the club’s fifth season in the league may be its best yet. This is the first time Angel City has won three straight regular-season games, and it’s the eighth team in the NWSL to do so. 

After struggling in the first half, ACFC seemed to find its rhythm after half-time. 

“One of the main things we noticed [in the second half] was our energy. That’s one of the main things we always say, like ‘control the controllables, and I think just wanting it and protecting our home field and not allowing someone to come in and take that away from us. We just made it a point to be more energetic and win first and second balls. Sveindís putting the ball in the net in the first minute really helped us to get some confidence and continue to play," said Tiernan on the shift during the second half. 

In the 47th minute, Sveindís Jónsdóttir’s left-footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner brought the home side back to life. The goal follows her performance against Bay FC last week, where she was involved in all three of Angel City’s scores, netting two goals and one assist. 

Less than three minutes later, Tiernan’s close-range right-footed shot put ACFC ahead with its second goal of the night. The goal brings Tiernan’s tally of regular-season game-winning scores to four- a club record. 

“On the wing, it’s adjusting to the 1v1 mentality, and it’s really important to change your speed and get into those dangerous positions to get the ball into the box. Just going forward, trying to read the defender’s body language and trying to see whether I can come inside or take it down the line to get the ball across", said Tiernan. 

Despite the score-filled second half, the night started differently from the club’s past two matches. Remnants of the team’s transition woes from last season made an appearance through the first half, and fans filled the stadium with ‘boos’ and ‘ref you suck’ chants against referee calls. 

In the tenth minute, Houston’s Maggie Graham sent a header into the bottom left corner. Angel City struggled to break through Houston’s high press. Statistically, Houston overpowered the Los Angeles side. The visitors created two big chances, while ACFC failed to register a shot on target. 

“I think there’s not a lot of good that we did in the first half, so we’re going to have to figure out what happened…we came into the second half knowing that we were only one-nil down, so we were lucky it wasn’t bigger. We came out and scored two goals and won the game," said Jónsdóttir.

Angel City plays the Orlando Pride (1-1-1, 4 points) on April 3 at Inter&Co Stadium. After an international break, Angel City returns home for an April 26 match against the Portland Thorns.