Brevity is essential in journalism. With this in mind, we’re delighted to launch ‘Three Words’, a weekly column that summarizes the key players, teams and moments in women’s football around the world into three words.
Think of this as the first text you get from a friend after asking, “What did I miss?” It starts with a three-word summary that previews what we’re going to dive into and provides context. Not only will we provide a recap explaining why these three words are important, but we’ll also provide a roadmap to show you why it will continue to be a topic in the coming weeks.
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Let’s get started.
Best left to the end
As far as opening weekend goes, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is pretty much a blackout bingo card of dramatic joy, from the Portland Thorns squelching two-time championship finalist Washington Spirit to two expansion teams, Boston Heritage and Denver Summit, both picking up red cards in their opening games. There were five club debut goals in the eight games between Friday and Sunday – with Germany international Melissa Kössler scoring her league debut at the Denver Summit.
With 16 teams, it becomes even more difficult to perform well over the next week. However, Angel City FC’s perfect performance against the Chicago Stars on Sunday night, the final game of the weekend, was a fitting ending. Their 4-0 win was also a strong statement from a club that has had a star-studded owner and huge investment but has largely failed to live up to its expectations.
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“We had a lot of fun,” said forward Kennedy Fuller, one of the four scorers. “I think that’s what this team brings and it’s a lot different than last year. We just have a lot of fun.”
Fuller said most of her teammates said the same thing, whether they were subbed in during the game or coming off the field after the final buzzer.
To be fair, Fuller said the same thing last year, “and people were like, ‘She’s just a bubbly teenager and she’d say that.'” Those words hit a little differently when the bubbly teenager (Fuller, who signed with Angel City a few days before her 17th birthday and is now 19) also opened Angel City’s scoring record for the season and recorded an assist in the home opener.
This was all before there was another level of excitement in the game. Angel City defender Savy King returned to work at BMO Stadium on Sunday after missing 10 months of regular action after suffering a heart attack in May that placed her on the season-ending injured list. A cheering crowd welcomed her back — the perfect end to a great night for Los Angeles.
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However, one can only predict so much from an outcome. On the sports front, the Chicago Stars have become a long-term center of attention in the league despite having a bevy of individually talented players, but so have the Utah Royals, who suffered a 2-1 loss to the Kansas City Tide last weekend. The Houston Dash defeated the San Diego Wave 1-0 on the road; and Bay FC won its first game since last June (yes, you read that right) against Summit. The last time Angel City faced Chicago, the Stars came away with three points; in the previous game, the two sides drew 2-2.
However, Angel City are the team that has scored the most goals so far this weekend and Keeping a clean sheet was something only three other teams in the league (Portland, Gotham and Houston) accomplished last weekend. The score still didn’t reflect their successful game plan under head coach Alex Strauss. This is the Norwegian manager’s first full season at the club and his vision for the team’s style of play was all over BMO on Sunday.
Angel City midfielder and Brazil international Ari Borges was one of the players to score for the first time, diving on a dangerous ball in the Chicago defense to break their record with her third goal in the 66th minute.
“To be honest, we spent a lot of time this week dealing with that pressure,” she said with a laugh after the game, “and a lot of repetition with Alex.” The training staff also prepared them well; they knew Chicago would continue to attack from behind.
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“Being aggressive in front of the media and bringing intensity to the team is one of my qualities,” said Borges, who left Louisville Athletic in the offseason to join Angel City. She said her move was an adjustment, “having a little fun with the ball” and maintaining possession.
“Today is our first game, but we have a lot more to show you,” she said. Hopefully this includes more Brazilian dance goal cellos.
Strauss has already locked the target. This is his first full season at the club, having joined midway through the 2025 campaign after finishing his tenure as head coach of Bayern Munich in Germany.
“Honestly, I hope we can get better. That’s what we’ve been focusing on. Today was great, we won 4-0, but it doesn’t help us next week against the Bay Area,” he said after Sunday’s game.
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He still has fresh memories of key games that cost him a playoff spot last season, and Angel City is still a young team. Straus expects more 4-0 wins, but also some unsuccessful games. “But if you look at the way we play, it’s part of our vision and what we want to bring to Angeles City,” he said.
Next week’s test against Bayside FC will clarify Angel City’s ambitions. As it stands, they deserve those three words this week because they are the most entertaining team right now.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Chicago Red Stars, Angeles City, NWSL
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