Seattle Falls 1-0 to Angel City FC

Angel City FC defeated Seattle Reign FC 1-0 on Friday night at Lumen Field with a lone goal from M.A. Vignola in the 34th minute.

It was a back-and-forth battle between Seattle and LA in the first half, beginning with a quick restart from the Reign in the 7th minute that led to a counterattack. Tziarra King was open in the box to receive the ball, but it was stabbed away by an Angel City defender.

Then in the 12th minute, it was Angel City’s turn on the offensive end when Claire Emslie managed to get a cross off from the right flank to Megan Reid who attempted a back-heel near the six-yard box, but Ainsley McCammon managed to clear it out.

Veronica Latsko created a strong attacking build-up five minutes later, driving at the backline to open up space and lay the ball off to Ji So-Yun on the right flank. Ji successfully crossed the ball into the box in an attempt to find Jordyn Huitema, but the play died after back-and-forth header attempts from both sides eventually landed in the hands of Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haracic.

The Reign nearly got a goal in the 32nd minute when King lofted the ball toward the far post for Ana-Maria Crnogorčević to head the ball into the back of the net, but it went just wide.

Angel City got the go-ahead just two minutes later when a give and go between Alyssa Thompson and M.A. Vignola put Vignola in position to slot the ball past Claudia Dickey and into the far post of the goal to give the visitors the lead.

The LA side almost extended the lead to two to close out the half in the 43rd minute after a short corner allowed space for Emslie to curl the ball into the box for Katie Zelem to redirect with her head, but it ricocheted off the crossbar.

LA continued to penetrate forward in the opening five minutes of the second half when Thompson cut inside to curl a shot far post, but Dickey made a diving save to prevent the goal.

Reign FC responded in the 54th minute with a rocketed shot from Crnogorčević inside the box, but it was turned away by Haracic.

Then in the 80th minute, a through ball from Huitema at the top of the eighteen gave Crnogorčević space to attempt a shot in the box, but Sarah Gordon was there to clear the ball for a Reign corner.

With a total of nine corner kicks and multiple offensive opportunities during the run of play, Reign FC had the potential to cut the deficit, but it wasn’t enough to come away with a win or a tie against the Southern California visitors.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• 23 DIFFERENT XIs: The Reign have listed a different starting XI through all 23 games this season. Only two players on the Reign have appeared in all 23 games this season – midfielder Ji So-Yun and defender Phoebe McClernon.

• DECIDED BY ONE: Among the Reign’s 23 regular season games this season, 15 have been decided by one goal.

• AINSLEY McCAMMON: Midfielder Ainsley McCammon, 17, made her first regular season start with the club since she first signed with the team on July 19. Tonight, McCammon became the youngest starter in club history and seventh youngest in league history (regular season).

• SERIES: The loss brings the all-time series between Reign FC and Angel City FC to 8W-2L-1D

UP NEXT: The Reign take on Utah Royals FC at America First Field on Sunday, October 13 at 2:00 p.m. PT.

MATCH SUMMARY 

2024 NWSL Regular Season

Seattle Reign FC 0– 1 Angel City FC

Date/Time: Friday, October 4, 7:00 p.m. PT

Location: Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

Weather: 57, clear

Scoring Summary

SEA: None

LA: Vignola – 34’ (assist: A. Thompson)

Discipline

SEA: Howell (Caution – 88’) 

LA: Dougherty Howard (Caution – 85'), Hammond (Caution – 90+5’)

Lineups

SEA: GK Dickey, D McClernon, D Holmes, D Bugg, M Howell, M McCammon (Glas 63’), M Ji, F Latsko (Athens 76’), F Huitema (Mondesir 90’), F King (Adames 64’), F Crnogorčevićc ©

Unused substitutes: GK Ivory, D Barnes, D Lester, M James-Turner, M Mercado

Total Shots: 6 (Crnogorčevićc – 3)

Shots on Goal: 3 (Crnogorčevićc – 1)

Fouls: 9 (Howell – 3)

Offsides: 1

Corner Kicks: 9

Saves: 1 (Dickey – 1)

LA: GK Haracic, D Vignola (Thompson 45’), D Gorden (c), D Reid, D Curry, M Hammond, M Dougherty Howard (Fuller 81’), M Zelem, F Thompson (Press 88’), F Bright (Leroux 64’), F Emslie

Unused substitutes: GK Anderson, D Eddy, D Spencer, M Nabet, M Rodriguez

Total Shots: 11 (Thompson – 3)

Shots on Goal: 2 (Thompson, Vignola – 1)

Fouls: 15 (Curry, Dougherty Howard – 4)

Offsides: 4

Corner Kicks: 8

Saves: 1 (Haracic – 1)

Referee: Matt Thompson

Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Schwartz Assistant Referee 2: Darren Bandy

4th Official: Joshua Madison

VAR: Laura Rodriguez

AVAR: Kali Smith