Full soccer stadium with a rainbow-colored smoke emitting under a clear sky.
Fans filled BMO Stadium in rainbow colors Saturday as Angel City FC celebrated Pride Night with a powerful show of support and solidarity. (Photo by Alex Swift/Cronkite News)

LOS ANGELES – Angel City FC found itself in the midst of a double celebration last Saturday – one that embraced the team’s giddy fans and identity, and another that helped uplift the NWSL community following what could have been a tragic loss.

With fans piling into BMO Stadium already on a high from the pregame Pride Celebration FanFest, the supporters sections let off rainbow-colored flares before Angel City kicked off against the Chicago Stars. A 2-2 draw against the last place Stars left fans conflicted after Saturday’s annual pride night, but they were inspired by a familiar face who watched from the stands.

As energy pumped through the stadium in the first half, 18-year-old Kennedy Fuller, an Angel City midfielder, opened the scoring with a tap-in goal 29 minutes into the game. The 1-0 score held until the second half, where Chicago equalized with a shot from Nadia Gomes that goalkeeper Angelina Anderson struggled to control.

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Chicago rode the momentum to score eight minutes later off a shot by Allyson Schlegel that made it 2-1. A goal with 10 minutes left in the game from Angel City defender M.A. Vignola tied it for the hosts, leaving the final score deadlocked.

Despite the result, fans were uplifted by both the pride celebration and an appearance in the stands by Savy King, an Angel City defender who collapsed on the BMO Stadium pitch during the second half of a May 9 game against the visiting Utah Royals. In a frightening scene, King was treated on the field for more than 10 minutes before being transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she underwent surgery for a heart abnormality.

King returned to the stadium Saturday for the first time in a month. The crowd erupted in cheers after the video boards showed King in a suite, sitting alongside other Angel City players who were unavailable for the game against Chicago. Angel City has not given an update on King’s return from medical leave, but the club stated “Angel City is prepared to support Savy as she continues her recovery.”


While the crowd cheered for King, who started in eight games for Angel City this season, the moment was even more special for teammate and goal scorer Fuller.

“Me and Savy got super close this year,” said Fuller, who tallied two goals and three assists at the U-20 Women’s Concacaf championships in the past week. “She makes me so happy, she was looking like the queen of the world. To be able to see her and for the fans to be able to see her was awesome.”

Saturday also marked coach Alexander Strauss’ first game with Angel City. After firing coach Becki Tweed in December, Angel City underwent an extensive search for her replacement, finally settling on the Norwegian Strauss, who posted a win percentage of 86% at Bayern Munich, which plays in the Frauen-Bundesliga, the top women’s league in Germany.

Strauss took over Bayern Munich’s women’s team in 2022 after the club came in second place in the 2021-22 season. In his three years with the team, Strauss led the Bavarians to a league title in every season, losing two league games total in that timespan. Reaching two Champions League quarterfinals and winning their second ever DFB Pokal under Strauss, Bayern Munich also recorded an unbeaten season in 2023-24.

Despite Strauss coaching his first NWSL game Saturday, he saw his philosophy come to fruition on the first goal against Chicago.

“We have had one training (session),” Strauss said. “This normally takes a year or six months to build an identity of how we want to play football and we already saw a goal today built out of the way that we want to build our attacks.”

The NWSL has put a lot of importance in support of pride month. There are 13 pride nights scheduled this season, with festivities that include fan giveaways, inclusive music and player-led initiatives adding onto the league’s Playing for Pride 365 from last year. Playing for Pride 365 is the NWSL’s joint initiative with Athlete Ally, a LBGTQ advocacy group.

Vignola, the second player Angel City signed after the expansion club announced it was joining the NWSL in 2021, spoke about the impact that the opportunity to represent pride has on her and the team.

“We talk about BMO (Stadium) being that kind of community environment and we can hear the fans throughout the entire game,” said Vignola, who made her 55th appearance for Angel City on Saturday. “Being able to express ourselves for our community, we have a team that wants to win for this community.”

Pride is a major part of Angel City’s identity. During June, Angel City has many events for pride month including watch parties, groups at pride parades, and volunteer opportunities in the local community. Angel City has already joined in on pride month festivities, with players Macey Hodge and Lily Nabet appearing in a pride parade earlier in the month.


Angel City takes a 4-3-4 record against North Carolina at home Friday before travelling to Kansas City for a June 20 game, followed by a month-long break in July.

As pride night enters the rear-view mirror for Angel City, Vignola highlighted the impact that celebrations like Saturday’s had on the field.

“Especially on a night like this, you can feel the energy even more in the stadium,” Vignola said. “I think that’s kind of what pushes us to take it to that next level.”

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Alex Swift expects to graduate in May 2027 with a bachelor's degree in sports journalism and a minor in film analysis. Swift works as a sports reporter for The State Press and a radio show host for Blaze...