Angel City FC Finishes Season Fifth After 4-1 Victory Over Boston Legacy

Angel City Football Club finished the 2026 regular season with a 4-1 win over Boston Legacy FC on Sunday, securing a berth in the postseason despite a final standing that forces them to open the playoffs on the road. The match at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson concluded a run that saw the team set club records for wins, points, and goals, yet left them without the home-field advantage for the upcoming quarterfinals.

The club recorded 15 wins, seven draws, and eight losses, totaling 52 points for fifth place. This final position was determined by simultaneous results on the league's final day of play. By halftime, Angel City held the fifth spot. The Kansas City Current defeated Racing Louisville 2-0, and the Washington Spirit beat Chicago 2-0. Those results pushed Washington to third place and left Kansas City in fourth with 53 points, making the Current the first opponent for Angel City next week.

Nealy Martin opened the scoring in the first half. Evelyn Shores added the go-ahead goal in the 17th minute with a header off a free kick by Sviendis Jónsdóttir. In the second half, Jónsdóttir scored in the 72nd minute after a slide pass from Taylor Suarez. That goal marked the 10th of the season for Jónsdóttir, making her the first player in club history to reach double digits in a single campaign. Claire Emslie added the final goal in the 84th minute.

The game was moved to Carson due to a scheduling conflict with an evening MLS match for LAFC. Attendance stood at 17,860. The victory extended Angel City's unbeaten streak to 10 consecutive games, a run that began with a 5-2 win over Boston on Aug. 31.

Interim coach Leif Smerud credited the team's cohesion for the late-season surge. "I think from the (summer) break onwards and we had a few changes and I think (interim coach) Leif (Smerud) done a great job in getting the team all together," Emslie said. "I think the togetherness is unique and it really feels like, no matter who’s on the pitch, they’re gonna do a job and they all believe in either so, I think having that togetherness and that fight, it’s done really well and that’s reflected in the results."

Martin noted the second-half performance mirrored the team's overall season trajectory. "You have to weather some storms in the first half. We didn’t finish that half the way we wanted, we went in the locker room, made some tactical adjustments, decided also we needed to be better individually and came back out the second half and did a lot better," Martin said.

Angel City will face the Kansas City Current on Saturday at 9 a.m. at CPKC Stadium. The Current hold a 32-game consecutive home unbeaten streak. Angel City won their first meeting of the season 2-1 at home on May 20 and drew 1-1 in Kansas City on Aug. 1.