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Angel City starts its fifth season with a bang
On Sunday afternoon, Angel City kicked off its fifth NWSL season with a 4-0 victory over the Chicago Stars — one of its biggest wins in franchise history. Brazilian midfielders Ary Borges and Maiara Niehues both scored, as did emerging young stars Kennedy Fuller and Evelyn Shores.
As head coach Alex Straus opens his first full season with the club, ACFC looks more aggressive on the high press defensively and in the box offensively. What else can we expect from Angel City in 2026? Learn more from my season preview on angelcity.com (excerpt below).
Angel City FC (ACFC) will begin its fifth season in the NWSL with its eyes firmly on the postseason. Bolstered by a set of offseason additions to complement the roster that was assembled by Sporting Director Mark Parsons in 2025, the club expects to be strongly competitive in the newly expanded 16-team league. The 2026 season will be the first full one for Head Coach Alex Straus after he joined ACFC in June after winning three titles in as many years with Bayern Munich in the Frauen-Bundesliga.
The Angel City offense will feature a retooled look, with several 2025 midseason acquisitions likely to start. Midfielder Maiara Niehues has already made her mark in the preseason, scoring a brace in Angel City’s victory over the Thorns in the Coachella Valley Invitational on Feb. 15. Countrywoman Ary Borges, who has made nearly 50 appearances with the Brazilian national team, signed with ACFC in January and will help drive the midfield attack for Straus. The midfield will also feature young star Kennedy Fuller, the versatile Nealy Martin, and Duke alumna Carina Lageyre.
Forward Riley Tiernan will be looking to make her presence felt up front once again for an Angel City offense that was top-five in the NWSL in shots taken in 2025. After joining last year’s preseason squad as a non-roster invitee, Tiernan was signed to a full contract by ACFC and went on to score eight goals in 26 starts in her first professional season — earning her an NWSL Rookie of the Year nomination.
Tiernan will be accompanied in the attack by dynamic players Jun Endo, Sveindís Jónsdóttir, and Prisca Chilufya. Fans can expect to see new mom Claire Emslie back on the pitch this season as well. Emslie and Endo have both been with ACFC since its inaugural season in 2022, while Jónsdóttir and Chilufya are each entering their first full year with the club.
Continue reading this season preview on the Angel City website.