Angel City FC produced a sharp second-half turnaround on Friday night, overturning an early Houston Dash lead to claim a 2-1 victory at BMO Stadium in National Women’s Soccer League action.
Houston struck first in the 10th minute when Maggie Graham found the net with a header, giving the visitors an early foothold in Los Angeles. The Dash carried that 1-0 advantage into the interval, despite Angel City seeing a little more of the ball and trying to establish rhythm in possession.
The match changed almost immediately after halftime. Angel City leveled in the 47th minute through Sveindís Jónsdóttir, whose goal brought the home side roaring back into the fixture and shifted the momentum squarely onto Houston’s back line. Just two minutes later, Angel City completed the comeback when Riley Tiernan scored in the 49th minute, stunning the Dash with a rapid-fire double that ultimately decided the contest.
From there, Angel City managed the match well, even if Houston continued to ask questions. The Dash finished with 14 total shots to Angel City’s 9 and won 7 corners to the home side’s 3, but they could not find the equalizer. Angel City, meanwhile, made their chances count, putting 3 shots on target and converting twice in a clinical spell that defined the night.
The fixture also had its physical edge. Evelyn Shores went into the book for Houston in the 14th minute, Danielle Colaprico was cautioned for Angel City in the 25th, Sveindís Jónsdóttir saw yellow in the 69th, and Kiki Van Zanten was booked in the 88th as the tension rose late on.
Angel City edged possession at 51.6 percent and showed resilience after falling behind, a response that will please the home support among the crowd of 13,896. For Houston, the defeat will sting after such a promising start and a first half in which the Dash looked capable of controlling the evening.
In the end, though, this was a tale of two halves: Houston landed the first punch through Maggie Graham in the 10th minute, but Angel City answered emphatically after the restart through Sveindís Jónsdóttir in the 47th minute and Riley Tiernan in the 49th to secure all three points.
