All good things must come to an end. More specifically, Angel City’s post-international-break streak under interim head coach Leif Smerud ended at three at the hands of Racing Louisville and Maja Lardner, losing at home 2-1.

This came despite having possession for 67% of the first half and taking a staggering 30 shots to Louisville’s 14. 

But at the final whistle, the only number on the board that matters is the score, and the visitors first got on the board in the 24th minute when Lardner took an Angelina Anderson rebound and sent it back home. She got her brace in the 55th, heading in a cross from Kayla Fischer.

Anderson, coming off her third clean sheet in a row, seemed to have issues finding the handle all night, with multiple blocks turning into second opportunities. Six saves on the night limited the damage.

Angel City finally got on the board in the 80th minute, with Sveindís Jónsdóttir taking a loooong pass from Sophia Mattice and megging Jordyn Bloomer to give the home side a chance. Jónsdóttir took no time to celebrate, immediately collecting the ball from the back of the net and racing back to reset, and the urgency was infectious. 

But despite the last-minute surge, which included a near-miss from Gisele Thomspon, a ball into the woodwork from Riley Tiernan, a shot from Mattice (making her first appearance for the club), and a diving header from Ally Sentnor that forced a two-handed stop from Bloomer, they couldn’t find the equalizer.

After the game, Smerud addressed the lack of production, and accuracy– of those 30 shots, only 6 were on target, vs Racing’s 8 of 14.

“We were too impatient to shoot, so we took the shot too early, and we could have connected one or two more passes to play the chances bigger,” Smerud commented.

The loss leaves ACFC at 8th on the table with 15 games played. And because of those scheduling oddities, every other team currently above the playoff bubble has played 16 or 17.

For Racing Louisville, this was only their third win of the season, coming on the heels of a draw to break a five-game losing streak. They’ll have to enjoy it while they can, as they hit the road to face the KC Current, currently sitting in 6th place.

Thanks to scheduling oddities, Angel City also face the Current next, with L.A. taking them on on August 1, while Louisville get them on the 29th.

Photos and article: Jim Sabo