Angel City’s hot start under Smerud comes to a halt against Racing Louisville

LOS ANGELES — Angel City FC had spent the opening weeks of Leif Smerud's interim tenure building momentum. On Sunday, that momentum finally hit its first roadblock.

Angel City rallied late but could not complete the comeback, falling 2-1 to Racing Louisville FC at BMO Stadium on Pride Night. The loss ended a three-match winning streak to begin Smerud's tenure and handed Louisville only its second victory of the season, but the result also exposed an issue Angel City will have to address quickly.

"We have to look at more than the result," Smerud said. "When we lose, we have to find what was good, and when we win, we also have to look at what was not so good, so we can learn."

There was plenty for Angel City to like in possession. The hosts controlled 67% of the ball in the first half and finished with 18 shots to Louisville's 11, but the numbers did not translate into enough danger in front of goal. Smerud felt Angel City was too eager to force the issue, taking shots before the attack had fully developed.

"We were too impatient to shoot, so we took the shot too early, and we could have connected one or two more passes to play the chances bigger," Smerud said.

That impatience was particularly costly against a Louisville side that spent much of the night defending its own box and waiting for opportunities to counter. Angel City struggled to create clean looks despite its control of the ball, while Louisville made its limited chances count.

Maja Lardner opened the scoring in the 24th minute after Angelina Anderson stopped Katie O'Kane's long-range attempt, with Lardner reacting first to the rebound. She doubled the advantage 10 minutes into the second half, heading Kayla Fischer's cross inside the left post.

For Angel City, the defensive problems were especially notable because the team had not conceded in its previous three matches. Claire Emslie pointed to the transition moments as an area that needed attention.

"I think defensively on the counter we need to look at that and clean that up," Emslie said.

Angel City eventually found the urgency it had been missing in the final third. Sveindís Jónsdóttir pulled one back in the 80th minute, sliding the finish between Jordyn Bloomer's legs. Sophia Mattice set it all up with an incredible long ball for her first career assist in her first appearance of the year.

From there, the match became a frantic push toward an equalizer.

Gisele Thompson's shot in the 85th minute rippled the side netting. Riley Tiernan struck the top-right corner of the woodwork in stoppage time. Mattice forced Bloomer into a save, and Ally Sentnor's diving header in the fourth minute of added time required another two-handed stop from the Louisville goalkeeper.

Angel City had finally found the intensity it had been searching for, but the late surge could not erase the two-goal hole it had created.

"The mentality was that we were always going to keep going forward, keep being positive," Emslie said. "And we always felt like we were going to score, and we got one."

Smerud credited Louisville for its ability to protect the lead while acknowledging that Angel City made the task easier by rushing its attacking decisions.

"I think the eagerness. This is a team that's done well now, and we wanted really to win and get the crowd going, and we wanted to score, and maybe we wanted it a bit too much in those decisions on the final third," Smerud said. "So we lacked a bit of patience and quality in that phase today."

The defeat also marked the first time Angel City had lost since Smerud took over, providing the interim coach with his first opportunity to see how the group responds when the results stop going its way.

There was no complicated answer from Smerud.

"I wish there was a magic trick, but there isn't," he said. "So I think it's just keep working."

That work will include finding a better balance between the attacking aggression that helped Angel City win its first three matches under Smerud and the patience needed to turn possession into higher-quality opportunities. It will also mean tightening up defensively when the team loses the ball.

Even in defeat, Smerud saw progress from two young defenders. Karsyn Cherry made the first professional start of her career in a new position, while Mattice entered in the second half and immediately provided the left-footed service that helped Angel City get back into the game.

"I don't want to say anything negative about their performance," Smerud said. "It's well done by two young players. We believe."

Angel City now has to show how it responds to its first setback under Smerud. The next opportunity comes Saturday, when it travels to face the Kansas City Current.

"We have been making progress, and we will continue to try to do that," Smerud said.