Sydney Leroux’s late goal helps Angel City FC end winless drought
LOS ANGELES — Snapping a three-game scoreless stretch, Angel City FC won for the first time since early May, defeating Racing Louisville FC, 3-2, on a game-winner by Sydney Leroux on Wednesday night for the club’s second victory at BMO Stadium this season.
At the midway point of the 2024 NWSL schedule, Angel City entered the night one spot behind Louisville, which visited L.A. occupying the eighth and final playoff position in the 14-team league.
Due to a better goal differential, Louisville (3-4-6) departs Southern California in the same position but is now tied at 15 points with ACFC, which had been winless in five consecutive matches.
Entering the contest having scored just 12 goals, the third-fewest in NWSL, Angel City (4-6-3) relied on players other than its leading scorer, Claire Emslie, as the forward spent much of the contest on the bench ahead of their weekend road match at Bay FC.
“We talk about it all the time: your contribution is what makes you valuable,” Angel City head coach Becki Tweed said. “Whether it’s off the bench. Whether it’s a goal. Whether it’s an assist. Whether it’s just your energy around the locker room. Contribution is value. And I think everybody contributed tonight in a way that we needed.”
Seventeen-year-old midfielder Kennedy Fuller, who opted to skip playing for the University of North Carolina when she signed with ACFC in March, made it a night to remember when she earned the start and became the third-youngest player in NWSL history to score a goal, breaking through for Angel City in the 17th minute.
“Kennedy is so reliable,” Tweed said. “Kennedy is a true pro. Whether she comes off the bench, starts, whether she doesn’t play minutes she’s the same person. She’s going to show up everyday and she’s going to give everything she has.”
In front of an announced crowd of 16,735, Fuller, who wears No. 17, received a pass from defender Madison Curry near the penalty spot and redirected it past Louisville goalkeeper Katie Lund.
“We’ve been working on that connection and that ball was perfectly placed,” Fuller said. “I don’t really remember anything after. Just a bunch of hugs and celebrations, which is kind of what I’ve personally been looking for. And I think as a team it was really, really good to kind of get us started that early.”
In the 32nd minute, Angel City extended its advantage thanks to Rocky Rodriguez, who netted her first goal after being acquired from Portland in the offseason by tucking away a skipping free kick in the box with her left foot.
Louisville got one back before halftime when referee Lorenzo Hernandez went to the monitor for a video review after a foul by Megan Reid in the box against Elexa Bahr. Hernandez ruled that Reid, whom he then showed a yellow card, had stepped on Bahr’s ankle.
Louisville forward Taylor Flint converted the penalty in the 41st minute, sending ACFC goalkeeper DiDi Haračić the wrong way.
The visitors then leveled the match after the 1-hour mark, when defender Carson Pickett found space in the box and hit a shot that deflected out of Haračić’s reach.
The Angel City goalkeeper was light on saves, making two, however she came up big with a tremendous reaction on a headed corner kick in the 81st minute that denied a third for Louisville.
“As much as game-winning goals are important, game-winning saves are also important,” Tweed said. “Credit to DiDi and the work she has done over the last couple of weeks to continue to stay consistent.”
Moments later, after Fuller was taken off in the 84th minute, another one of her teen teammates, 19-year-old forward Alyssa Thompson, deftly set up Leroux, who split Louisville defenders as she ran onto a perfect pass before knocking it in at the far post.
Though she has not scored this season after four goals as a rookie in 2023, the assist marked Thompson’s fifth this season in 13 starts.
“I think we knew it was going to happen,” Leroux said. “We knew we were going to get one big chance and we were able to put it away. Amazing ball from Alyssa and that’s what we did.”
The finish marked Leroux’s 45th regular-season goal in NWSL competition and her fourth this year. Her first came in 2011. Asked about her debut goal as a professional, Leroux, 34, joked that she didn’t know if Kennedy had been born yet.
Following ACFC’s best offensive output of the season and coming off a hard-fought 113-minute scoreless draw last weekend in Houston, Leroux beamed as she sat alongside Fuller at the post-match press conference.
“We’ve struggled to get the ball in the back of the net, so our first thought was let’s go forward and try to make it as difficult as possible,” Leroux said. “We have the players to do it and we were able to do that today.”
Classic Sydney Leroux pic.twitter.com/FdCyb7moFw
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 20, 2024
Them: "What were you thinking when you were running onto that ball?"
Syd: "That it's going in the back of the net." pic.twitter.com/ItO95f2Otd
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 20, 2024
17-year-old Kennedy Fuller's first NWSL goal! pic.twitter.com/BiMMxjgW6g
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 20, 2024
Rocky Rodríguez's first goal with @weareangelcity! pic.twitter.com/yEH3F5E2Gy
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 20, 2024