September 14, 2022 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Angel City FC News Release
CARY, NC – Angel City lost 0-1 on the road at North Carolina tonight, following a second-half goal by forward Kerolin.
The game got off to a quick start with a clutch save by DiDi Haračić in the second minute. Debinha dribbled out of pressure and found Kerolin making a breakaway run. Kerolin sprinted toward goal, beating her marker, and took a shot from inside the box. Haračić came off her line and just got a toe on the shot, deflecting it out for a corner kick.
In the eighth minute, forward Claire Emslie ran onto a long ball over the top, beat the remaining defenders on the dribble, and put a shot on frame from inside the area, but keeper Casey Murphy saved.
Ten minutes later, Angel City came close again. Midfielder Cari Roccaro sent a short forward pass to midfielder Clarisse Le Bihan at the top of the box, who cleverly flicked the ball up and over her mark for midfielder Savannah McCaskill. McCaskill looked to have been brought down in the box by North Carolina midfielder Brianna Pinto, but no penalty was called.
In the 26th minute, Kerolin sent a ball into the box for Pinto. She laid the ball off to midfielder Denise O’Sullivan, who took a hard shot from just inside the 18; her shot was on target, but Haračić got a hand on the ball and tipped it over the crossbar. Less than a minute later, O’Sullivan headed a ball into the box down for Ordoñez, who was lurking at the near post, but she scooped the close-range shot over the bar.
Angel City had another chance in the 43rd minute, when Ali Riley received the ball, made a run up the left wing, and sent a pass back to midfielder Jun Endo in the box. Endo cut the ball to her left foot and put a shot on frame; Murphy blocked the ball, which bounced across the goal and over the endline for a corner kick.
North Carolina’s final chance of the first half came in the 45th minute. Ordoñez split the Angel City defense with a pass up the left to Debinha, who in turn made a forward run and crossed the ball back towards Ordoñez, who was crashing the net. Ordoñez fired off a shot that defender Paige Nielsen just managed to block. The deflection fell to Debinha, but Nielsen blocked her shot, too, and the ball was cleared from the box.
The second half also got off to a quick start, when McCaskill received a ball in space on the right, sprinted up the wing, and sent a diagonal pass to Endo. Endo had the defense beat and sent a…