Prisca Chilufya and Ally Sentnor Rescue Angel City in 3-3 Thriller With Denver Summit

Prisca Chilufya had been on the field for roughly a minute when she scored. Eleven minutes later, Ally Sentnor buried a penalty, and a night that had been sliding toward disaster for Angel City FC turned into one of the wildest draws of the NWSL season.

Angel City and Denver Summit FC played to a 3-3 draw at BMO Stadium on Friday night in the first-ever meeting between the clubs. Maiara Niehues gave the hosts a halftime lead, Denver answered with three goals in the opening 16 minutes of the second half, and Chilufya and Sentnor dragged Angel City all the way back. Nobody won. Everybody needed a breather.

Angel City Knocks, Niehues Answers

Angel City owned the first half. Sveindís Jónsdóttir headed just over from point-blank range in the third minute, Niehues forced a save from Abby Smith a minute later, and in the 25th minute Niehues smacked the left post from the middle of the box. She tried again from distance in the 31st and Smith pushed it away.

Denver had a flurry of its own early, with Yazmeen Ryan and Melissa Kössler both heading wide in the fifth minute, but the visitors mostly spent the half absorbing pressure. They finished the match with 43 clearances, which tells you plenty.

The breakthrough arrived right at the end of the half. Captain Sarah Gorden found Niehues, who struck a left-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom right corner in the 45th minute. Per Angel City, it was her eighth goal of the season and Gorden's third assist.

Fifty-Nine Seconds of Chaos

Whatever Denver's staff said at halftime should be bottled and sold. In the 49th minute Kössler set up Yuzuki Yamamoto, and the rookie rolled a left-footed finish into the bottom left corner. The Summit say it was her third goal in three games.

Before the BMO crowd had finished groaning, Ryan rattled the crossbar from outside the box, the ball dropped for Lindsey Heaps, and Heaps slotted the rebound into the bottom left corner. VAR checked it and the goal stood. Denver says the two goals came 59 seconds apart, the fastest back-to-back goals by one team within the same half in NWSL history, breaking a 2016 mark set by the Western New York Flash. For Heaps, it was her first goal for Denver and her first NWSL goal since 2021 with Portland, per the club.

Then Janine Sonis made it 3-1 in the 61st minute with a right-footed rocket from outside the box into the top right corner, set up by Delanie Sheehan. Denver says it was her 10th goal of the season. ESPN listed her at left back. Ten goals from left back is the kind of stat that makes fantasy managers weep.

Chilufya and Sentnor Flip the Script

Interim head coach Leif Smerud went to his bench, sending on Chilufya for Niehues in the 62nd minute and Carina Lageyre for Nealy Martin a minute later. The payoff was instant. Angel City broke quickly in the 63rd minute, Jónsdóttir fed Chilufya, and the substitute finished from very close range. VAR confirmed that one too.

"I was going in, and [Smerud] told me, 'You can change this game,'" Chilufya said, per Angel City.

Angel City kept coming. Smith saved a Jónsdóttir shot in the 66th minute, and Jónsdóttir had a header blocked in the 67th. In the 73rd minute, Sentnor drew a foul from Ayo Oke inside the box, Oke was booked, and Sentnor sent the 74th-minute penalty into the bottom left corner with her right foot. Three goals apiece, with 16 minutes plus stoppage time to play.

Star Turns on Both Sides

Jónsdóttir was a one-woman siege engine for Angel City: seven shots, the assist on Chilufya's goal and a pair of late headers that just missed. Niehues put three of her four shots on target and hit the post. Sentnor finished with three shots and the equalizer.

For Denver, Heaps scored, set up Ryan's effort that led to her own goal and was booked in the 71st minute. Sonis supplied the moment of the night. Smith made three saves, and Kössler had an assist and a shot on target before going off in the 71st.

The Turning Point

Chilufya's goal changed the emotional temperature of the building. Denver had just gone 3-1 up and looked ready to coast. Two minutes later, the lead was one and the momentum had swung hard toward Angel City, which won eight corners to Denver's one and spent the final half hour camped in the attacking third.

Late chances kept coming for the hosts. Gisele Thompson dragged a shot wide in the 79th, Chilufya fired high and wide in the 86th, and Jónsdóttir headed wide in the third minute of stoppage time and again from close range off a corner in the sixth. Denver held on for the point.

"We have to do better in our game management," Smerud said afterward, per the club. "I'm very happy with how we responded."

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Angel City 18, Denver 9.
• Shots on goal: Angel City 6, Denver 4.
• Corners: Angel City 8, Denver 1.
• Clearances: Denver 43, Angel City 15.
• Saves: Smith 3, Angelina Anderson 1.

What It Means

Angel City moves to 9-6-8 with 33 points and is unbeaten in three after road wins at Boston and Louisville. The club framed this point as part of its push toward the playoff line, and Seattle Reign FC visits BMO Stadium on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Denver sits at 8-7-8 with 31 points, also unbeaten in three after a 6-1 win over Chicago and a 3-0 win over Gotham. The Summit's recap noted the club remains just below the playoff line in 10th place. Two home games come next: Bay FC on Wednesday and Seattle on Saturday.

Closing Take

Jónsdóttir summed it up neatly. "Not giving up is something that we have to take with us," she said, per Angel City. Denver brought the fireworks, Angel City brought the comeback, and both left with a point and a slight headache. If the rematch is half this unhinged, clear the calendar.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by AngelCity.com. Additional details from DenverSummitFC.com.