April 16, 2023 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Angel City FC News Release
LOS ANGELES – Angel City Football Club (ACFC) drew Racing Louisville FC 2-2 at home tonight in a back-and-forth match that saw goals by ACFC forward Katie Johnson and midfielder Savannah McCaskill.
The match got off to a difficult start for Angel City, when defender M.A. Vignola committed a foul in the box and the center official pointed to the spot. Midfielder Savannah DeMelo stepped up to take the penalty and buried it in the upper left-hand corner to open the scoring in the third minute.
Louisville came close to notching a second goal in the 13th minute when DeMelo beat her mark at the top of the 18 to send a shot just inside the left post- but keeper DiDi Haračić dove and just got a hand on the ball to deflect it onto the post itself.
Two minutes later, Angel City nearly got one back. Forward Claire Emslie ran onto a long diagonal pass from midfielder McCaskill, sprinted into space on the right side of the penalty area, and took a crack from distance, but her shot went just wide of the far post.
The two teams continued to trade attacks as the game went on, with neither side gaining control of the center of the pitch.
In the 32nd minute, Louisville doubled their lead as Kirsten Davis received the ball from forward Kirsten Davis near the penalty arc, took a touch to beat her mark, and sent her shot into the left side of the net.
On the last play before the halftime whistle, defender Paige Nielsen made a solo effort, dribbling into the box from the right and beating several defenders, but she sent her shot wide.
After the halftime break, Angel City came out on the front foot, producing a handful of chances, but it was Louisville that came close to scoring first. In the 60th minute, DeMelo sent a free kick to the far corner of the six-yard box, where forward Jessica McDonald was making a weak-side run. McDonald got her head on the ball, but sent it wide.
Angel City broke through in the 68th minute after they were awarded a free kick a few yards to the left of the penalty area, near the endline. McCaskill sent the kick to the near post, where forward Johnson redirected the ball with her torso to beat keeper Katie Lund.
ACFC put together a number of chances over the next 10 minutes, finally equalizing in the 87th minute. Forward Alyssa Thompson sent a cross into the near side of the penalty area, where an attempted clearance by a Louisville defender landed at the feet of…