Angel City FC arrived to the National Women's Soccer League in 2022 in full Hollywood style. The franchise had a unique vision for distinguishing itself in the league, complete with glitzy branding, a slew of high-profile investors within the ownership group and a "player first" perspective and an original sponsorship model where 10% of every sponsorship dollar goes directly to community programs. In its first year of operation, the organization quickly established itself as a recognizable brand in the women's soccer landscape in almost every facet. The only thing missing was actually performing on the field.
They stayed in the playoff conversation during 2021, but won only one game in their final five weeks of the season and fell four points shy of the playoff line, good for an eighth-place finish in a twelve-team league. Still, for an expansion franchise to remain relevant through the final match week of the season seemed like a reasonable first introduction into the league, perhaps even enough to build on in their sophomore season.
During the offseason, Angel City struck out on many of the marquee names on the league's first-ever free agency period but made moves to select 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson in the 2023 NWSL Draft. The first half of the 2023 season was forgettable. Former head coach Freya Coombe had the team to 11th place with a 2-6-3 record, and as a result, was dismissed at the halfway point of the season. Becki Tweed was named interim head coach.
Now, Tweed is building a massive case to retain her place in the position.
Tweed and the squad ran their unbeaten streak since she took over to 10 games on the road Friday night against the Kansas City Current. The roster is playing competitively, closing out games over 90 minutes, and is within striking distance of the 2023 playoff line.
"I feel like it was probably the most transitional game that we have seen in a while," Tweed said during postgame comments.
"At times both teams got really stretched. We knew that KC is brilliant in transition. It was something that we kind of had to take away from them. I think we found ourselves in a lot of emergency defending situations. You can see tonight that it doesn't always have to be pretty.
You have to do the ugly stuff really well. To keep moving forward as a team, you have to be well-rounded, and we just grafted out a result against a really good team on the road."
Part of Tweed's immediate impact on the group has been her game management and player rotation. Games for Angel City have seen Tween use far more substitution windows in the second half of their season, and the players have bought into a team mindset that it will take everyone to get to the postseason. Goalkeeper Angelina Anderson made her debut in the win against Kansas City, as did midfielder Amandine Henry the France international.
"I think we needed to recognize that where we can hurt teams is sometimes in behind. We have two options, to play at their feet or play into behind and we have to make the most of that. We have to look at what they give us and make the most of that . . . Again the conversation was we have to do the ugly stuff really well the whole game. We can't pick and choose the moments when we do that. Second half, we were able to identify that and grind it out."
Angel City now has four games remaining in their season. If they want to break through the playoff line they'll have to keep up the results, and ties may not be goo enough if they intend to knock out contenders in front of them. Still, a 10-game unbeaten streak is no easy feat, and as the club looks for a new coach, it is impossible to dismiss how Tweed has turned the team around in the second half of their sophomore season.
"We have talked about the next five or six games as a cup final. We want to be in control of our own destiny. It takes more than the eleven players that are starting. We had a couple of changes in the lineup tonight. We want to keep things fresh. We want to make sure that we use our squad.
Ultimately, you need a squad to continue to compete week-to-week in this league. This league is what it is because there are so many good players.
It is pulling each other through moments. No game is going to go for you. There are going to be ebbs and flows and you have to manage both sides of the ball. Sometimes you just need a teammate to pull you through. We got there as a group now. If it's not one person, it's another person. It is like having 25 leaders that are pulling each other through."
Angel City will close out its next three games against fellow bottom-half-table teams in Chicago, Orlando, and Houston. The west coast side will close out the regular season at home on Oct. 15 against 2022 NWSL Champions Portland Thorns FC.
