August 19, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
Angel City FC News Release
LOS ANGELES – Angel City Football Club (ACFC) beat Liga MX Femenil side FC Juárez 7-0 in a friendly tonight following a hat trick by forward Messiah Bright, a brace by forward Claire Emslie, and a goal each for defender Megan Reid and forward Alyssa Thompson.
Angel City opened the scoring in the first minute when Emslie served a ball into the penalty area. The ball was initially blocked by a Juárez defender before falling to midfielder Kennedy Fuller, who settled the ball with her knee before sending a volleyed pass to Bright, who was lurking in space in the box. Bright’s confident one-touch strike hit the bottom of the crossbar and bounced into the goal.
The hosts didn’t take long to double their lead, with forward Alyssa Thompson sending a service back into the penalty area from the endline. After midfielder Rocky Rodríguez and defender Madison Curry each got a piece of the ball, it landed in the run of defender Megan Reid, who hammered it into the back of the net.
Bright notched her second in the eighth minute, beating a defender to the right of the 18-yard box to find space, then shooting with her left foot. Goalkeeper Renata Masciarelli blocked her initial effort, which bounced straight back to Bright, and the forward sent the rebounded ball inside the far post to bring the score to 3-0.
In the 18th minute, Angel City was awarded a penalty kick when Thompson was fouled by defender Destinney Duron. Thompson stepped up to the spot and buried her attempt in the lower right corner of the goal.
Emslie found the back of the net in the 22nd minute after Bright sent her a lateral pass in the midfield. The Scottish international took the ball forward into the right side of the box, beating a defender and Masciarelli to find the back of the net from just outside the six-yard box.
Bright completed her hat trick in the 36th minute. Reid initially got her head on a corner kick from Emslie, with the ball then falling to the goal line near the far post, where Bright controlled the ball and tapped it across the line with her right foot.
In the 45th minute, Emslie added a seventh, sending a free kick curving just under the crossbar from 25 yards.
The second half was relatively uneventful, though it did see a near miss by Las Bravas in the 54th minute. Midfielder Liliana Mercado served a free kick to the six-yard box, where defender Julitha Singano got her head on it, but her attempt hit…