Angel City Football Club has experienced all of the emotions in just three seasons as a franchise.
The ups and downs, sellout crowds, playoff-clinching celebrations, two coach firings, front-office shakeup, ownership takeover.
Year Four starts Sunday with Angel City looking to rebound from a 12th-place finish.
Can it be done? It’s the NWSL, anything truly is possible.
“We want to be a team that is fighting for trophies every year,” new sporting director Mark Parsons said. “That means it’s my primary responsibility to be clear on how our style of play and how our culture is in this organization. When you’re clear on that, you get to go and find people that could help join and raise our level, complementing the qualities that we currently have.”
Parsons has been busy since arriving in January. The last piece to find is a permanent coach. Sam Laity has been installed as interim coach since the club removed Becki Tweed after one full season.
Laity will be in the role until June.
“Our head coach process is getting to a point where it is getting clearer, but it’s still not clear when the head coach could be joining us at Angel City,” Parsons said. “The availability of the candidates that are left in the process are all available in June, and in the next few weeks, I hope to be able to give a more concrete update.
“While we’re very committed to finding the best person, the only reason we’re in a position to be able to do this is because we’ve got someone like Sam Laity, who’s been in this league for over 12 years as an assistant coach and as a head coach leading our team and organization on the field right now. He’s doing a tremendous job. We’re very happy and grateful for the way that he has conducted himself and continues to lead our group.”
Parsons has a successful track record in the NWSL. As a coach, he led the Portland Thorns to two NWSL Shields (2016 and 2021) and to a championship (2017).
‘I’ve really wanted to jump into this role full time,” Parsons said. “I’ve always been both coach and sporting director, coach or general manager in some capacity. I really wanted to do it full time, so that was a strategic choice from my end.
“The first moment I had a conversation with Angel City, they were honest about what had been wrong and what had been right. I absolutely believed with every answer of mine that I aligned with the importance of community and the importance of supporting, pushing and raising the game for female athletes.”
For as impactful as Angel City has been in the community, the results on the field have been hit or miss. Now, in the first full season under the new controlling ownership group with Willow Bay and Bob Iger, the challenge facing Parsons and Laity is putting a winning project on the field.
Some of the expectations come from new acquisitions. Forward Julie Dufour joins from Paris FC on a three-year contract); midfielder Alanna Kennedy joins from Manchester City on a one-year contract; defender Savannah King moved from Bay FC in a trade and signed a two-year extension; Macey Hodge, one of the top midfielders in college, signed a two-year contract; and Japanese defender Miyabi Moriya signed a one-year contract.
Forward Christen Press, who made her return last season after undergoing knee surgeries, signed a one-year contract. Goalkeeper Angelina Anderson was signed to a three-year extension and sisters Alyssa and Gisele Thompson both signed extensions through 2028.
“I arrived January 15th, two days before the players arrived right at the end of the core part of the offseason,” Parsons said. “Since that date to today, it’s been incredibly intense working, listening, sharing and leading a great group of staff here with regards to roster development and recruitment.
“The philosophy since I arrived in the building is that we’ve done some good work with the additions that we have made. We’ve got to develop and retain the talent that we have. Alyssa and Gisele Thompson’s contract renewals were absolutely huge that (technical director) Mark Wilson and (assistant general manager) Matt Wade worked on. So right now, we’re feeling pretty excited about our roster.”
Angel City is still a team with some questions in need of answers. However, Parsons is excited for what’s ahead.
“It reminds me when I got to Portland, they finished fourth, then they finished sixth and for the next six years we had a pretty good ride,” he said. “I feel like we’ve got something special here to build and I love the role and seat I’m in, to be able to have a bigger impact across staff and the long-term strategy of an organization. I’m enjoying every moment. I don’t know if I’ve ever worked this many hours in a day for the last six weeks of my life, but I’m pretty excited and my adrenaline’s high.”
San Diego Wave FC at Angel City FC
When: 3:50 p.m. Sunday
Where: BMO Stadium
TV: ESPN2