Just a few days after the official kickoff to the fall season, the fans and players experienced the year’s first Nor’easter on Saturday evening. In a complete downpour for 90 minutes, Angel City FC’s Maiara Niehues stunned Audi Field with a late, top-shelf curler to steal three points on the road. On a brighter note, the sellout crowd of 19,215 marked the Spirit’s fourth sellout of the season, and the Spirit crossed 200,000 attendees for the first time in a season.
Led by interim head coach Leif Smerud, Angel City FC came out in a 4-4-2 formation. Anchored by captain Sarah Gorden, the backline consisted of Savy King, Emily Sams, and Evelyn Shores. The midfield featured Ary Borges, Ally Sentnor, Gisele Thompson, and rookie Carina Lageyre. The attacking options upfront were Prisca Chilufya and Icelandic superstar Sveindís Jónsdóttir.
With the continuous roster action on the Spirit’s side, coach Adrián González started an 11 that looked a lot different than the first half of the season. Gabby Carle, Tara Rudd, Lucia Di Guglielmo, and Esme Morgan solidified the backline in the Spirit’s 4-3-3. The midfield consisted of captain Andi Sullivan, Hal Hershfelt, and Monique Ngock. The front three was led by Sofia Cantore, Trinity Rodman, and Rosemonde Kouassi.
It only took eight minutes for the Spirit to threaten in the torrential downpour at Audi Field. Andi Sullivan sent a cross from the far right side into the box that found Trinity Rodman. The star forward’s header went just outside the near post for a goal kick, but the exposure put ACFC on notice.
The visitors mounted a response on a counterattack led by Prisca Chilufya. After laying the ball off to Ally Sentnor, a cross passed by the front of goal, missing both goalkeeper Sandy MacIver and its intended target, Sveindís Jónsdóttir.
The first half couldn’t have been more divided between the clubs. For the Spirit, the first 45 will be remembered for Trinity’s runs that never finished because nobody could deliver a clean pass to her. For Angel City, a defensive clinic. The visitors played most of the half on the backheel, but were built sturdy enough (through Gorden and Sams) to withstand whatever the Spirit threw at them.
Angel City must’ve read my comments at halftime because they came out swinging in the second half. Chilufya had an opportunity in the Spirit’s 18-yard box, but her shot near post was deflected away by MacIver.
In the 89th minute, ACFC found a lifeline through Maiara Niehues. Her curling effort from about 20 yards out beat a diving MacIver and secured a vital three points as they battle for playoff positioning. After a range of substitutions, the Spirit couldn’t find an answer.
“It was an incredible finish. As soon as she hit it, I knew it was going in,” said Angel City’s Carina Lageyre after the match. “I’m so happy for her. I know she’s been dealing with a lot and I know that she needed that.”
The three points help ACFC in their push for better positioning in the playoffs, and the ladies are well aware of this. “[The points] Definitely helps our push, so now we have to take this moment and move forward,” said Lageyre. “We can take this heading into Gotham, but for today, it was a great team win for sure.”
The Spirit clearly need more time to gel after their big roster shakeup. The sentiment was echoed by the team. “We see glimpses (of promise), but the execution is a little off,” said Hal Hershfelt about the chemistry with the new signings. “We have some new players who are phenomenal, but it’s going to take a little while to gel.”
The Spirit will travel to Houston next Sunday, Oct. 4, to take on the Dash.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Courtesy of Spirit Social Media