Angel City FC needed a win to get them close to the playoff line, and Alyssa Thompson delivered. They hosted the Orlando Pride in a tense Thursday night game that ended with Angel City earning their first win since May.

The game was deadlocked until deep in the second half when Riley Tiernan got a shot off from inside the box that deflected out to Thompson. Marta put the pressure on, but Thompson wasn't phased, cutting inside the box and leaving Marta a step behind. When she got the shot off, one that seemingly deflected off a Pride defender, all Orlando keeper Anna Moorhouse could do was watch it sail into the upper corner.

In celebration, Thompson hit her teammates with a play on the 6 7 meme trend, popularized by Lamelo Ball and Paige Bueckers on Tik Tok before they mobbed her.

No one was happier for her, though, than Christen Press, a teammate and mentor who Thompson herself has credited in the past with her development in scoring goals.

This was Angel City’s first win since May, and it couldn’t have come sooner. Now, they are just two spots out of the *extremely* tight playoff race, tied with the eighth and ninth place teams in points and only after them due to goal differential.

The Orlando Pride, on the other hand, have been held winless since June. San Diego leapfrogged into second place last weekend, and with the rest of Week 17 still yet to unfold and the Spirit tied with them in points, losing this match may prove to be costly.

Orlando will soon be getting reinforcement in the midfield. The team announced Thursday they acquired Mexico’s Lizbeth Jacqueline Ovalle in a history transfer.

In the meantime, catch us watching Thompson’s beauty of a goal on repeat.