**Los Angeles, California –** Angel City FC won its first-ever regular season match against the North Carolina Courage on Saturday night in front of a packed crowd at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. Behind goals from Vanessa Gilles and Jun Endo, Angel City gave their fans exactly what they were looking for with a 2-1 win over the Courage.
The hosts shot out the gun to open the match and would end up scoring just three minutes from kickoff in front of a raucous crowd. Having earned a second consecutive corner on the left, the delivery from the set piece was then headed away by the Courage defense to the opposite right flank where attacker Jun Endo was there to meet it. Cutting away from goal, Endo clipped a ball into the center of the area where defender Vanessa Gilles was waiting with her head to redirect home.
Continuing their rush, one minute of Christen Press tested Courage goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland with a stinging effort, Angel City scored their second inside 10 minutes through the attacker Endo. Endo streaked down the left side of the field and received a perfect pass from midfielder Savannah McCaskill just a few years outside the 18-yard box. Sprinting into the penalty area, Endo then placed a low powerful effort to the far post past the netminder Rowland to extend their advantage to turn from provider to scorer.
Down two and looking for some momentum, North Carolina nearly found a way back into the match after persistent play led to a well-taken effort from forward Kerolin Nicoli in the 19 ^th minute. A scramble on the right side of goal ended with North Carolina midfielder Emily Gray finding Kerolin, and the Brazilian did so well to hit a bouncing ball but applied just too much height on the effort as it rocketed off the cross bar and back into play.
The Courage continued to push forward and forced a great save from Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haracic in the 38 ^th minute. Defender Jaelene Daniels demonstrated her take on ability as she slalomed down the left flank and played a perfect ball on the floor across goal to meet Gray, but the midfielder was unable to direct it enough as Haracic produced a big save.
Holding firm defensively, Angel City would end up finding one more good look on goal just before the half. In the 43 ^rd minute, Press had another good look on goal as the hosts attempted a quick counterattack following a recovery in the North Carolina half. Receiving the ball just outside the penalty area, Press was unable to find the target as her shot landed high.
An energetic first 45 minutes resulted in Angel City enerting the halftime interval up two goals thanks to a blitzed attacking start coupled with good play by Haracic, despite North Carolina’s efforts.
Coming out of the gate hot again, Angel City nearly found a third just two minutes after the restart. Moving at speed along the left flank, Christen Press made her way into the box near the intersection of the left and top marks and unleashed a curling right-footed effort that narrowly missed the far post on its way out of play.
However, the game’s direction turned momentarily when North Carolina was able to pull a goal back through Debinha in the 51 ^st minute. Emily Gray was again at the center of the move as she held possession on the right flank, shook a defender and swung in a left-footed cross the dipped quickly toward the back post. Diving to meet the ball, Debinha headed home from close range to beat Haracic and provide a lifeline for the visitors.
However, though the remaining 40-plus minutes including stoppage time produced chances for both sides, neither Angel City nor North Carolina were able to swing the game’s momentum a direction with another goal. The Courage did well to press the Angel City goal especially in the game’s six minutes of stoppage time, though their efforts ultimately fell short.
In the end, Angel City’s two-goal blitz in the opening 13 minutes stood as enough for the hosts to earn an impressive 2-1 win over North Carolina in the opening game of the regular season.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights