The Angel City Football Club battled on defense, coming up with a scoreless draw against their rivals the San Diego Wave FC. The ACFC hit five shots on target but was unable to get the ball in the back of the net.
Goalkeeper DiDi Haračić made 11 recoveries while forward Alyssa Thompson made eight. Haračić also made four saves. In extra minutes after the second half, Haračić made a save after a shot ricocheted off the crossbar for a Wave player to make another quick shot.
“I think it’s a matter of how can we make a chaotic moment so calm and that’s something we train,” Haračić said. “For me, it’s just going through my routines, my rituals, my habits.”
Wave head coach Casey Stoney mentioned how she was “bitterly disappointed” in not securing the victory.
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“I think we created a lot, we got to create more chances,” Stoney said. “I thought first half, we were very good, I thought we fell off a little bit in the beginning of the second half.”
Defender Madison Curry stepped up into the ACFC Starting XI after Sarah Gorden was sidelined with an injury last week. Curry noted how her teammates have helped her get acclimated to her new role.
“It’s believing in the identity we built as a team and I think what’s gone into that in the preseason is knowing roles that are different from your own,” Curry said. “It’s a long season with a small roster, so injuries happen; things don’t go ideally so I think it’s being ready to be the next man up in whatever capacity comes in.”
ACFC head coach Becki Tweed was impressed with the mentality the team had, especially in the final nine minutes of the match. She noted how mentality was a big topic for the team this week.
“We showed a new level of mental strength and toughness tonight, a level that should be there, that we should demand from each other every week,” Tweed said. “The last nine minutes was a little crazy and I think you’ve seen us crumble in past weeks in those nine minutes and today, I felt like everybody was tuned in, dialed in.”
Angel City had possession for 51.4 percent of the match and only shot two shots off target while the Wave shot seven off target. However, San Diego made nine shots from inside the box while ACFC only made eight.
“I thought when we got in the box we were dangerous,” Stoney said. “Our best chances didn’t even hit the target.”
ACFC now has a 3-2-5 overall record and the Wave is 3-3-4 overall. On June 8, Angel City will battle NJ/NY Gotham FC at 9:30A.M.
