Angel City players celebrate Paige Nielsen’s second-half equalizer in a win over the San Diego Wave on Saturday. (Ray Acevedo / USA TODAY Sports)
Angel City FC pulled off a thrilling victory on Saturday, rallying to defeat SoCal rival and top-ranked San Diego, 2-1, on the road at Snapdragon Stadium.
It was a statement win for 11th-ranked Angel City. After a poor showing during the first half of the NWSL season, the club fired head coach Freya Coombe on Thursday. Assistant Becki Tweed is serving as interim head coach until a replacement is selected.
“I think we just fed off her energy,” Angel City defender M.A. Vignola said of Tweed’s leadership. “She wanted us to play to our potential. We know what we have on the field. As teammates we know what we can do. She really brought it out of us. This past week of training was the most competitive training session we have had in two or three months.”
Stars of the game
All three goals in Saturday’s match were scored by defenders. San Diego got on the board first, with Kristen McNabb…