BMO Stadium | Los Angeles, California – Saturday, May 13 at 10:00 PM ET
Players to watch:
Angel City attacker Jun Endo scored and recorded an assist in Angel City’s win on Sunday, setting up a goal for fellow attacker Claire Emslie. Endo has six assists for Angel City in all NWSL competitions, twice as many as many other players, with those six assists setting up goals for six different teammates. Endo’s goal was the first of the year, while Angel City is able to boast six total goalscorers through six games played. Top of that list is forward Alyssa Thompson, who has scored an impressive three goals and is still the only player on her side to have scored a goal from outside the box.
Since the start of the 2021 season, the Spirit’s trio of forwards Ashley Hatch (30), Trinity Rodman (19), and Ashley Sanchez (13) have scored 62 goals for Washington in all NWSL competition, more than any other trio of teammates in that time. The three have combined to score eight of the Spirit’s nine regular season goals this year, with Hatch scoring four, Rodman scoring three, and Sanchez scoring one. Only midfielder Paige Metayer has a goal outside of the aforementioned group.
Match facts: Angel City FC welcomes the Washington Spirit to Los Angeles on Saturday night as the lone game across the league. The hosts Angel City are looking for a second-straight win, the first time this season they would be able to do so, as they see an unbeaten Spirit side coming in having won three and drawn three in their first six matches.
A statistic in the Los Angeles-based club’s favor, Angel City has lost only one of its last five regular season matches (W2 D2) including a 3-2 victory over Kansas City last Sunday. Head coach Freya Coombe’s side has scored three times in each of its last two league games after doing so just twice in the team’s first 26 regular season matches, as they produced one win and one draw in those matches.
On the other side, Washington is unbeaten through six league games this year (W3 D3), the longest unbeaten start to a season in club history. The Spirit and Thorns (W3 D3) are the first pair of teams to go unbeaten through six matches of the same season in NWSL history. In addition, Washington was able to win their first Challenge Cup match contest of the year in their second attempt, only furthering momentum in their favor.
Angel City won both of its meetings with the Spirit last season, recording a 1-0 win in D.C. in May and a 2-1 home victory in September. In addition, the Spirit are the only team Angel City has recorded consecutive wins against in all NWSL competitions. However, the Washington of this year seems a far cry from the Washington of last year, though Saturday night will in part help determine that.
