Kennedy Fuller earns Angel City's second point against the Portland Thorns

Angel City is walking away from its first away match of the season with another 1-1 draw, but Friday's match kicked off with a burst of energy and focus that last week's home-opener against the San Diego Wave lacked. For the first twenty minutes, it seemed the woes of week one were fading away. 

Under the bright lights of Providence Park, 18-year-old Kennedy Fuller lit up the scoreboard in the ninth minute with Angel City's lone goal against the Portland Thorns. Building off a beautiful defensive combination started by defender Sarah Gorden playing a line-breaking pass to midfielder Alanna Kennedy who found defender Gisele Thompson on the right wing, Fuller capitalized off a diagonal pass with a few touches to turn her defender, firing an angled shot that landed in the far corner of the net.

“We had a couple good chances in the first half. We had been circulating the ball really well and we've been switching the ball, which is something that we've been working on," said Fuller. "What I said on the media call yesterday is the creativity we have up top. Alyssa [Thompson], Giselle [Thompson], Claire [Emslie], Riley [Tiernan] are sick. Everyone is really working on creativity and for me to be able to just finish it off, everyone did the work for me. All I had to do was shoot it.”

Fuller's performance earned her Player-of-the-Match and notched her second career goal. Although no longer a rookie, she is one of the youngest players on Angel City's roster and is ready to bring the lessons of last season into this one. In a recent interview with The Sporting Tribune, Fuller talked about her goals for the new season. “One of the biggest things for me this year was being dangerous and creative,” she said. 

“She can be a really dangerous and productive player between the lines,” interim head coach Sam Laity said about Fuller. “One of the things we've been talking about production — If you're going to be playing as an attack midfield player — and you're playing in between the lines — it's about end product… The last two games, she’s been fantastic.”

Despite Angel City's goalkeeper Angelina Anderson blocking numerous attempts, Portland kept pushing for an equalizer. ACFC did its best to expand its lead but Portland responded with a goal of their own in the 30th minute. Olivia Moultrie whipped a corner kick into the six-yard box, and the ball bounced through the knot of defenders where it was redirected into the net by Reilyn Turner. 

After starting strong, Angel City lost momentum in the later half, and neither team could find the back of the net to pull ahead. There were sloppy transitions and opportunities left unfinished. At times, the back line was stretched too thin and gaps appeared for Portland to exploit. However, Angel City's improvements from last week did not go unnoticed. 

When ACFC is patient and does not force attacks too fast, there are fewer turnovers and cleaner transitions. Unlike last week, the club out-possed Portland 54% to 46%. Five out of ten total shots were on target, and zero big chances were missed, whereas only nine out of Portland's 21 shots were on target and three big chances never came to fruition. 

“I thought it was an extremely exciting game. I thought we started very well and had really good control in the first 20 minutes or so. Then we lost a little bit of that control and allowed Portland to get back into the game. Conceded a sloppy goal. I think up until that point we were in the ascendancy," said Laity. "Just a couple little things. First and second balls became an issue and we lost a bit of momentum and that led to their goal. Really good start. Good structure, good organization, and we played some nice football.”

Anderson kept the Thorns at bay till the whistle with an incredible save. In the 93rd minute, Anderson went to the ground to stop a low shot by forward Alexa Spaanstra. 

“(Her performance is) why myself and the club has got so much faith in her to be the No. 1, because she's got all the attributes to be one of the top goalkeepers in the world,” Laity on Anderson's Friday performance.  

Angel City fans also witnessed the season return of Christen Press in the 76th minute and Gorden reaching her milestone of 10k minutes played. 

With two draws in the books, Angel City currently sits fourth on the NWSL table. It's not the most ideal way to start, but considering ACFC finished 12th in the league just five months ago, it's a step in the direction that Laity and sporting director Mark Parsons are mapping out. Angel City takes on the Seattle Reign on Sunday, March 30, at BMO Stadium.