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Angel City FC edges Houston to improve to 3-0

March 28, 2026

LOS ANGELES — For the first half on Friday night, Angel City Football Club was turning in one of those inconsistent performances that Coach Alex Straus expected would happen this season with a young team.

Angel City failed to record a shot on goal in the first half and trailed the Houston Dash at halftime at BMO Stadium.

The second half, though, was a much different story, especially the first four minutes.

Out of the halftime break, Angel City (3-0, nine points) finally found its life.

Sveindís Jónsdóttir brought the faithful to their feet with a curling shot from just inside the 18-yard box, tying the score in the 47th minute. Two minutes later, Riley Tiernan stuffed in a loose rebound for a 2-1 lead, and Angel City hung on to win by that score.

“There’s not a lot good we did in the first half,” Jónsdóttir said. “We came into the second half knowing we were only one-nil down, so we were kind of lucky that it wasn’t bigger than that. We knew that we were still in the game … came out, scored two goals, won the game.”

Angel City entered the game having won its first two games to start the season, for the first time in its brief history. Friday’s win added another bit of history – the first three-game winning streak in franchise history.

Tiernan’s goal started simply off of a long goal kick by Angelina Anderson. Gisele Thompson gained possession on the right wing, crossed toward Maiara Niehues, who was able to head the ball toward the goal, but it took a deflection off of a Houston defender and goalkeeper Jane Campbell got a hand on the ball, but Tiernan made a late run toward the goal to put away the rebound.

“I think one thing we noticed was our energy and I think that’s one of the main things we can control, control the controllables,” Tiernan said. “Just wanting it and protecting our home field and not allowing someone to come in and take that away from us, so I think we just made it a point to be more energetic and Sveindis (Jónsdóttir) putting the ball into the net in the first minute of the second half, really helped us to get some confidence.”

Both Angel City and Houston missed the NWSL playoffs last season. They entered the game, both having won their first two games to start the season and were tied for first place. The Dash opened the season with back-to-back shutout wins over San Diego Wave FC (1-0) and Boston Legacy FC (3-0).

The Dash got on the board first Friday on Maggie Graham’s header in the 10th minute. It was just the second goal allowed by Angel City so far this season.

After that, Houston did a good job of making the first half uncomfortable for Angel City, which despite the possession edge, never created any real goal-dangerous moments. Angel City had scored seven goals in the first two game but didn’t have that same space and time in the first half.

Jónsdóttir’s goal certainly changed that, keying the second-half revival and come-from-behind win.

“It is a game of moments. Especially in this league, everything can turn around,” Straus said. “We don’t think we were able to put three passes together (in the first half) and that’s down to Houston, really respect the way they pressed us.

“We have bigger expectations of ourselves … it was not a skill issue. It’s about are you switched on? Do you pay attention? Do you have intent in everything you do? (In the first half) I don’t think we did and we talked about that (at halftime, a little bit louder than normal). We have bigger expectations of ourselves, so we take the three points. It’s a good start.”

Angel City will be back in action next Friday with a road game against the Orlando Pride. After an international break, Angel City will return home for an April 26 match against the Portland Thorns.

Orange County Register

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Angel City FC edges Houston to improve to 3-0

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