Angel City Slides into 11th Place After Losing 3-0 at Home to Orlando Pride

Angel City FC's Claire Emslie sets up a corner kick. Photo by Angel City FC

Orlando Pride extends its unbeaten run to 16 games as it drubbed Angel City FC 3-0 in front of its sold-out home crowd of 22,000 at the BMO stadium in Los Angeles.

Brazilian and Pride striker Adriana was a nightmare for ACFC as the diminutive forward needed only 25 minutes to put two goals under her belt. Soccer legend Marta, her teammate on Brazil's national team, provided the assist on the first goal in the 20' as Adriana was unmarked outside the penalty box to set up her shot and blast home a screamer.

Orlando Pride's Marta defends Angel City FC's Giselle Thompson. Photo by ACFC

Orlando’s second goal came in the 26' as striker Barbra Banda raced to the left side of the pitch attempting to score a low ball but was deflected by GK Didi Haracic. Adriana again was at the right place and time as the ball bounced to her at point blank range.

Down 2-0 entering the second half, Angel City FC never showed signs of defeat and continued to apply pressure on the visiting squad. 

Sydney Leroux attempts to score at a game vs the Orlando Pride. Photo by ACFC

ACFC’s best chance at goal was in the 63’ when defender Merritt Mathias sent a long pass on the right wing for forward Sydney Leroux. The USWNT legend set her shot perfectly to beat Pride GK Anna Moorehouse only to be denied by the woodwork.

Determined to bounce back and score, ACFC overlooked Orlando Pride’s bread and butter counterattack. In the 86’ Barba capitalized a miscue on ACFC’s defense. The Zambian captain and Africa’s leading Olympic goal scorer danced around goal and finished the game for the hosts.

After the loss, Angel City drops to 11th place in the NWSL standings and will play defending champions Gotham FC next on July 6 at 7pm PST.

Highlights from Angel City FC's YT Channel