Just because the NWSL was on international break during the World Cup, it doesn’t mean that the Angel City head office was idle. June 2026 will long be remembered as one of the most momentous and tumultuous in the club’s short five-year history.
In the span of two days, they:
- Traded star midfielder Kennedy Fuller to NorCal rivals Bay FC.
- Parted ways with head coach Alex Strauss mere hours after the Fuller announcement
- Acquired star midfielder Ally Sentnor from the KC Current
The first two items arrived as a double-gut punch just before lunch on the 17th, and left many asking, once again, what exactly was going on in the front office. By mid-afternoon the rumors began to spread that the Sentnor trade was in the works, but that wasn’t confirmed until two days later, leading to even more speculation: Was the deal sealed before the decision to cut Strauss was made? How aware was Sentor that she was coming to a club without a head coach?
Regardless of the speculation, ACFC wasted no time getting her on the field, starting her in the first game back from the break against the visiting Orlando Pride.
Sentor immediately made her presence felt, taking her very first touch in Asphalt and Sol Rosa the length of the field, leading many to think she was going to score within seconds. Despite the play being broken up, Sentnor was a force throughout the game, integrating so well with the offence that it was hard to believe she’d only been with the club for 16 days.
Orlando dominated possession through the first third of the game, but failed to generate any chances. Then Angel City found their rhythm, and began to test the Orlando defense.
In the 36th minute, Ary Borges unleashed a shot from just outside the penalty arc. Cori Dyke stopped it near the spot, but lost her balance in the process. Maiara Niehues was quick to collect the ball and chip off a shot of her own, splitting the defenders and climbing over goalie Anna Moorehouse’s outstretched arm for her team-leading fourth goal of the season.
Despite keeping the pressure on the visitors, Angel City took the one-goal lead into the locker at the half. The second half started with ACFC continuing to dominate possession, until Sveindís Jónsdóttir intercepted a Rafaelle pass and took it back to the house, doubling the lead in the 56th minute and putting her back in a tie for team goals with Niehues.
The victory gave interim head coach Leif Gunnar Smerud his first win, and continued ACFC’s unbroken streak of interim coaches not losing their debut game.
Beating the 8th place Pride in their own house was one thing, but Angel City’s next contest saw them on the road to face rivals San Diego Wave FC, who have spent most of the season sitting at the top of the table.
Different stadium, almost identical results.
Ally Sentnor forced a turnover in the 17th minute, just outside the Wave penalty box. Jun Endo sent in a cross that Wave goalie Luisa Agudelo got a piece of, but failed to contain. Maiara Niehues pounced on it and headed it into the back of the net to put L.A. into the lead.
They doubled that lead in the 26th minute when Ary Borges trapped an Evelyn Shores header and fired it past Agudelo. San Diego stepped up in the second half, but the ACFC defense was more than up to the task, with critical plays from goalie Angelina Anderson to earn her second clean sheet in a row.
The win wasn’t without cost, however, as Endo went down grabbing her knee just before the end of the first half—the same knee that suffered an ACL tear that kept her out in ‘24 and for half of ’25.
After facing two top-tier teams in a row, the road trip to the Windy City was a welcome respite. The Chicago Stars have spent most of the season near the bottom of the table, and that started with a season-opening 4-0 loss on the road to Angel City.
The Stars dominated the first half, but what seemed to be a goal in the 42nd minute was overturned. The game went to the half without a score, but it didn’t take long for reality to crash down. A pair of fouls inside the box in the 56th minute led to a penalty kick, and Niehues buried it for the lead and her fifth consecutive game with a goal.
Getting on the board woke the Angels, and they went on the attack. It looked like Jónsdóttir doubled the score in the 85th minute, but VAR overturned the call by a toe. Jónsdóttir would earn that put-away goal in the 98th minute, sealing the deal and finally putting L.A. back into playoff contention.
The three-win streak matches Angel City’s start to the year, and the Windy City win marked the first time in club history that they had three consecutive shutouts. The five clean sheets in a season is also a record for Anderson.
However, the game also was played without Endo. So far, there has been no official comment from the team. They did repost Endo’s Instagram update from four days after the SD game, where she commented “I’m working hard every day to recover. It’ll take time… but I’ll keep staying positive and doing everything
I can to get back to the place I love.”
ACFC will close out July at home against Racing Louisville, who currently sit in last place in the league. With a record of 2-2-10, it’s been a particularly rough year for Louisville. The only consolation for their fans is that they snapped a five-game losing streak with a draw at home against the Houston Dash.
Article and photos: Jim Sabo
