LOS ANGELES – Angel City Football Club fought hard to overcome a two-goal deficit against the Denver Summit, ending the night in a 3-3 draw at BMO Stadium on Friday.
Angel City’s Maiara Niehues opened scoring one minute before halftime, and goals on both sides did not stop coming. The action-packed second half saw five goals scored: two by Angel City and three by the visiting Denver Summit. Down by two goals, Angel City’s offense was on a mission.
“Going down 3-1 at home was not acceptable,” Angel City forward Sveindís Jónsdóttir said. “We came together and spoke and said we were not done. We knew we wanted to score more goals. We’ve got some game-changers on, and they helped us change the game.”
In the 44th minute, Sarah Gorden intercepted the ball and immediately played it to Niehues, who sent it flying into the back of the net for a goal. It was Niehues’ eighth goal of the season.
@mainiehues set the tone early 💪 pic.twitter.com/UsF6CAszVE
— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) September 12, 2026
Angel City’s energy was high, with three out of seven total shots being on target and an accuracy level of 84% on passes. That changed moments after heading out of the locker room.
Immediately after the second half began, in the 49th minute, Denver’s Yuzuki Yamamoto scored for the third straight game with a shot from inside the box. A minute later, USWNT star Lindsey Heaps scored her first goal for the Summit on a rebound. Heaps had shot earlier, but it ricocheted off the bar back to her feet, and she sent another powerful shot, this time finding the back of the net as the ball sailed out of ACFC keeper Angelina Anderson’s reach.
Then, 11 minutes later, in the 61st minute, Janine Sonis added Denver’s third and final goal.
In the 63rd minute, Angel City’s Prisca Chilufya and Sveindís Jónsdóttir teamed up for the home side’s second goal of the night. On a fast break, Jónsdóttir passed the ball to Chilufya for a tap-in, sending the crowd erupting in cheers. It was initially ruled offside, but a VAR break overturned the call.
No outrunning Prisca & Sveindis 🏃♀️➡️ pic.twitter.com/0wa3LFq7JG
— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) September 12, 2026
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With the pressure on high, Angel City found one last goal in the 74th minute. Moments prior, Denver defender Ayo Oke’s high boot in the box struck Angel City midfielder Ally Sentnor in the face. Off the ensuing penalty kick, Sentnor found the back of the net and evened the score for the rest of the night.
Ally Sentnor’s first PK for Angel City FC was a beauty 🫶 pic.twitter.com/0psqSS3VnY
— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) September 12, 2026
“It was blink of eye when they scored two goals,” Chilufya said. “We looked at ourselves, and we felt like we could do something about it. We wanted to pull a win out of this, big fight for the team. The comeback was great. We look forward for the next one.”
Friday was the first-ever matchup between the two teams. In 2022, Angel City debuted as an expansion team; now the club is in its fifth season and, for the first time, faced the Denver Summit in the visitor’s inaugural season.
ACFC started NWSL week 21 in ninth place in the league standings, two spots above Denver. The draw keeps Angel City (9-6-8, 33 pts.) in ninth place while Denver (8-7-8, 31 pts.) improved to tenth. With just seven games left in the regular season, Angel City is fighting for a chance at playoff contention.
“The point coming back was big for us,” said Angel City interim coach Leif Smerud. “Would have liked two more.”
The next obstacle in ACFC’s way to eighth place? Current eighth-place team: the Seattle Reign. Seattle visits BMO Stadium on Wednesday, September 16th at 7 pm PST.
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