The playoffs berths are starting to get sealed up in the NWSL and that’s a good sign the season is approaching the end.
For Angel City Football Club, the end could appear quickly if they squander this week’s opportunity.
Angel City (6-11-3, 21 points) is currently in 10th place, two spots out of a playoff berth, but the club returns home for consecutive games, starting Monday against the Portland Thorns. Angel City will also host the Washington Spirt Friday.
“We need to focus on one game at a time,” Angel City coach Becki Tweed said. “The goal for every game is three points now. We know we’re disappointed not picking up any points in the last two games (vs. Seattle and at Racing Louisville) in games we should’ve picked up points. We put ourselves under a bit of pressure, and we know that every game is a must-win now.”
The Thorns (8-9-3, 27 points) have lost four consecutive games, but still hold a playoff spot in seventh place. Plus, the Thorns still have USWNT star Sophia Smith, who can take over a game at any moment.
“The biggest threat that we talked about this past week was Sophia Smith up on the front line,” Angel City defender M.A. Vignola said. “She has the ability to want and find herself in good spaces. However, I think that once we can break that first line of press, we can get her kind of out of the game and also dictate that high press on her. That’s going to be the biggest thing for us.”
The teams will also meet Nov. 1 in the regular-season finale at Portland. After this two-game home set, Angel City will play two consecutive on the road (at Seattle, Oct. 4 and North Carolina, Oct. 12).
Angel City knows in order to have something on the line in October, September needs to end on a high note.
“Portland is a really good team,” Vignola said. “We talked a lot about how with the stretch of games that they had, they’re definitely going to come into BMO with that little hunger and fire. With us being home, it’s definitely good for us to be able to take the initiative and kind of run the game.
“We need to be the ones who initiate the press. When we’re going to go, when we’re not, we just have to dictate the momentum of the game, which is going to be really important.”
Angel City is 3-6-1 at home this season. The Thorns are 3-5-2 on the road.
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“In this league, you can’t get away with mistakes and you get punished for them,” Tweed said. “We have to start punishing teams more. There is so much more to it than an individual mistake or a singular moment.
“We have to make sure we stop conceding as many goals as we do and continue to score goals. That will ultimately pick us up points, but now it’s crunch time and we don’t have room for error. We have to continue to grow, grind and find a way to get results. That’s going to be the test over the next six weeks that everybody on our squad is up for.”
PORTLAND THORNS at ANGEL CITY FC
When: Monday, 7 p.m.
Where: BMO Stadium
How to watch: Bally Sports SoCal; CBSSN