LOS ANGELES — After nearly 90 minutes of ducking and dodging the Kansas City Current’s best punches as if it was a heavyweight fight, Angel City Football Club felt the knockout punch just before the clock struck 90:00.
The Current’s Claire Lavogez scored the game-winning goal in the 90th minute and added a second in stoppage time to hand Angel City FC a 3-1 defeat on Friday night in front of 19,178 at BMO Stadium.
“I think it started off a little bit transitional and I think you saw how dangerous we could be, our play was working and we tried to nullify their threats,” Angel City defender Ali Riley said. “I think this just shows that you have to be on for the entire 96 minutes. We let down in the end, but you can’t fault the effort that the girls put in.”
Before the late explosion, Angel City (2-3-1, seven points) had done one of its better defensive jobs containing the Kansas City attack.
However, the league’s highest-scoring team eventually had the final say.
“The last two goals … we have to be better defensively,” Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said.
After going winless in its first three games, Angel City had won consecutive games (against Chicago and North Carolina). Kansas City (5-0-1, 16 points) has secured all available points save for a 1-1 draw against Gotham FC.
Angel City broke through on the scoreboard in the 34th minute as Claire Emslie scored off an assist from Alyssa Thompson, and the hosts took that lead into halftime.
The second half saw a more focused Current team. Kansas City recorded 15 shots (five on target). In the first half, the Current took nine shots (three on target).
Kansas City scored the equalizer in the 54th minute on a perfect strike from outside the 18-yard box by Vanessa DiBernardo that sailed over Angel City goalkeeper Didi Haracic’s outstretched right arm, settling into the back of the net.
DiBernardo nearly had a second goal on a shot from outside the 18-yard box that hit the crossbar in the 65th minute.
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Just when it appeared as if a draw was possible, the Current found their late goals, thanks to their depth.
“I think we switched off for the last six minutes,” ACFC coach Becki Tweed said. “You can’t do that against any team, especially a team that’s scored 20 goals. We have to get better from it. I thought the first half we created a decent amount of opportunities and we came in at halftime in a good position.
“We have to continue to play when we go 1-0 up. We just became a little careless on the ball. I think we stopped them in transition for the most part. We chose to come out in a 3-4-3 and to have five players available in transition. We didn’t have a crazy amount of time to prepare, but I thought we executed well for 89 minutes … but I think the depth of their squad … when you bring on (Brazilian standout) Debinha (as a sub), that’s good.”
The teams previously met on March 30, with Kansas City winning, 4-2.
Angel City returns to action next Friday (May 3) with a road match against Utah Royals FC.