After two years at the University of North Carolina, Evelyn Shores thought it was time to try something different.
“Over the past year, I’ve obviously gone through a lot and over the spring semester (at North Carolina), I kept getting better and better,” the defender said. “Then I had a good summer and going professional has been my dream since I was a kid and the opportunity presented itself, so I just felt like it was the best time for me right now.”
Shores, 20, bypassed her final two seasons with the Tar Heels and signed with Angel City FC through 2028. At UNC, she suffered an ACL injury as a freshman in 2023 and returned late in the 2024 season to help the Tar Heels win the NCAA championship. Shores played in The Soccer Tournament in June on the U.S. Women team. She helped the team claim the $1 million prize with the game-winning goal in the final.
“I felt like my time at UNC made me grow as a player,” she said. “With the summer I had coming into this, I felt like the timing was right for me to come in.
“Coming to the facility (at Angel City) every day and being here with so many soccer specific activities like film and training all day. That’s the biggest adjustment I’ve had to make. Coming from UNC, it’s really been pretty seamless because they run a pretty good environment there.”
Shores signed with Angel City in July. Since NWSL play has resumed, she has found her way into the starting XI against the Seattle Reign and the San Diego Wave FC.
“I was definitely nervous because it was my first professional game,” she said of the start against Seattle on Aug. 1. “I would say, just in training and with the staff we have here, I felt prepared going into the game and they did a good job keeping me in touch with everything going on and not making it as big of a deal as I felt like it was.
“I felt prepared going into the game and once the whistle blew, I didn’t feel those nerves anymore. It was just preparation for the game and the day of the game that I was pretty nervous.”
Last week, Shores went 73 minutes in last week’s 1-1 draw against San Diego, turning in a strong defensive effort, winning eight of 10 tackles and 12 of 17 total duels.
“(Coach) Alex (Straus) did a good job putting together some training sessions to focus on defending on their right wing and our left side,” Shores said. “I felt really prepared going into the game and honestly, when the game was going on, I felt like I had a lot of support for my teammates around me. They put me in positions to be able to make those plays and I’m glad that I was able to.”
Playing at last-place Utah (1-11-3, 6 points) on Friday, Angel City enters the last of three consecutive road games in 11th place (4-7-4, 16 points) in the 14-team league. Next Thursday’s home game against the Orlando Pride will be Angel City’s first at home since June 14.
Straus credited the team’s fight and resilience in its draw against San Diego.
“It was a good performance,” he said. “If we can stay consistent, then we can continue on the journey from there. If we can show more of the grinding, belief and courage that we showed against San Diego, we can continue to build on that going forward and take huge steps. However, we need to prove to ourselves that it’s not a one-off thing.”
ANGEL CITY FC at UTAH ROYALS FC
Where: America First Field, Sandy Utah
When: 7 p.m. Friday
How to watch: Paramount+, FDSN SoCal