Thompson tallies first goal, Angel City routs America

Playing its first match of 2023, Angel City FC looks to be rounding into form with its season opener a little more than two weeks away.

Welcoming Club America to BMO Stadium for a Wednesday night friendly, the most notable headline going into the match was the debut of 18-year old forward Alyssa Thompson, who Angel City had maneuvered around in order to make her the first overall pick in the 2023 NWSL draft. Thompson showed why she was worthy of such a selection, as she scored the opening goal, and goal from Paige Nielsen and Simone Charley propelled Angel City to a 3-0 win over America.

“We’re making good progress,” Angel City head coach Freya Coombe said. “We’re happy with the layers that we’re able to add in. Now tonight was a great example of us being able to give slightly more minutes to some players. We’ve been sharing minutes so far in preseason. It was a good chance to get some minutes with players and expose them to a bit of a challenge.”

The moment came for Thompson in the sixth minute. Megan Reid intercepted a pass and the ball found the feet of Thompson and she took off, dribbling past a trio of America defenders into the penalty area, Thompson then rounded keeper Itzel Gonzalez, who left her line, and slotted the shot from a tight angle into the back net to open the scoring for Angel City.

“It definitely helped relax me,” Thompson said of the goal. “I felt like everything that I’ve prepared for up until this moment has helped me score that goal. Just feeling the hugs after and my teammates surrounding me was such an amazing feeling. It definitely took some weight off my shoulders.”

Angel City continued to be aggressive the remainder of the first half and well into the second half. Angel City thought they had a second goal just a minute into the second half from Claire Emslie, but that resulted in the introduction of Video Review, which its making its debut in NWSL this season. The Video Review stated that Emslie was offside when Thompson sent the pass forward, therefore nullifying the goal. Angel City eventually got that second goal in the 57th minute, as Emslie received a free kick from Savannah McCaskill, sent a ball directly towards goal, the ball was deflected, Megan Reid headed a ball down, the ball found the feet of Paige Nielsen, who took a brief touch and fired a ball just outside the six-yard box past Gonzalez near post. Angel City finished off the match in the 85th minute, as Katie Johnson sprung Charley with a through ball, Charley dribbled into the penalty area, Gonzalez left her line, Charley rounded the keeper and sent the shot into the back net.