**ORLANDO, Fla. –** Angel City FC endured to the end as a goal in the 10 ^th minute of added time lifted the visiting side over the Orlando Pride for a 2-1 win. Angel City jumped off the mark in the 39 ^th minute through forward Claire Emslie before Orlando rookie Messiah Bright equalized for her team in the 51 ^st minute. However, forward Katie Johnson’s last second stunner was just what Angel City needed to bounce back after last week’s loss.
The visiting side were the first to threaten the opposition goal when midfielder Madison Hammond was given an opportunity to head on goal in the seventh minute. On the delivery for a corner kick was midfielder Savannah McCaskill, and her low ball in was flicked on inadvertently from the near post to the center of the goal. There, Hammond headed on toward goal, but her effort was high and just narrowly over the bar.
However, Orlando answered right back when attacker Ally Watt when breaking into the Angel city final third in the ninth minute after a good ground duel challenge saw her come away with possession near midfield. Barreling ahead, Watt twisted an Angel City defender before cutting just to her right and onto her right foot. Watt then unleashed a shot across goal from just outside the box that Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haracic was forced to save.
Then, in the 26 ^th minute, Orlando again put a scare in the Angel City defense through defender Kylie Strom’s cross-come-shot. As the Pride worked the ball from right-to-left as they advanced down the field, a ball was rolled across for Strom to take forward. The defender then worked her way inside the box and clipped a ball toward the back post that clipped the bar on its way through and fell back into play. However, nothing came from the ensuing move.
However, Angel City saw the momentum turn back in their favor after Orlando defender Emily Madril was judged to have fouled attacker Alyssa Thompson inside the box, leading to a penalty decision. Thompson and Madril had been shoulder-to-shoulder as Thompson raced toward the penalty area in possession. As she approached goal, Madril attempted to slide in and win the ball amid an also onrushing goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse’s advances. However, the official judged that the challenge was enough to result in the spot kick. Up stepped forward Claire Emslie in the 39 ^th minute, and she sent Moorhouse the wrong way and slotted her effort in the bottom right corner of the goal to give her side the lead.
At the half, Angel City’s lead came late but they clung onto a one-goal advantage.
Into the second half, Orlando came out with more of the edge with Strom nearly causing more trouble for the Angel City defense in the 49 ^th minute. A long ball was played in over the top and into the penalty area, where after bouncing twice it landed at the feet of Strom. The defender then attempted to create space and get a shot away, but it was blocked and eventually cleared as the equalizer was temporarily repelled.
Those efforts did not last long though as forward Messiah Bright scored her first goal of her NWSL career in the 51 ^st minute to give the fans in Exploria Stadium something to cheer about. A long, gut-busting run saw Bright split the central defense and sprint straight through on goal. Poking her effort to the left side of goal, Haracic’s best attempts could not stop the ball from rolling into the side-netting and Orlando found their way back in.
After a back-and-forth rest of the match, Orlando found themselves in a difficult position in the 86 ^th minute after a second penalty was awarded to Angel City with the referee judging a hand ball incident on the Pride’s Haley McCutcheon. Up again to take was Emslie in the 89 ^th minute, but this time Moorhouse guessed correctly and stopped the attacker’s right-footed effort to the right side of goal to give her side a major boost late on.
Unfortunately for Orlando, though, Angel City did not stop knocking at the door and eventually saw it opened right in the game’s dying moments through a strong header from forward Katie Johnson. Angel City had won a corner late on that Emslie took responsibility for, and her line drive delivery toward the near post saw Johnson get through a pack of bodies to get her head on the end of the pass. From close in, Johnson’s header was unstoppable for Moorhouse and Johnson delivered in a frenetic finish for her side’s first victory of the year.
For Orlando, the club suffered a heartbreaking loss for their second of the year (4-0 at Portland), but it was an encouraging effort Seb Hines’s squad.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights