Niehues and Jónsdóttir Lift Angel City Past Orlando Pride 2-0 in Leif Smerud's First Match

New interim coach, new signing, fresh start: Angel City FC had more ideas, more energy and, crucially, more goals. In Leif Smerud's first match as interim head coach, Angel City beat the Orlando Pride 2-0 on Friday night at BMO Stadium, getting goals from Maiara Niehues and Sveindís Jónsdóttir in front of 13,900 fans.

The club said it was Angel City's first match in more than a month, and the hosts showed little rust. They outshot Orlando 14-5, put six shots on target to Orlando's one and kept goalkeeper Angelina Anderson's evening quiet until the 80th minute. It also settled a score: Orlando had beaten Angel City 2-1 in Orlando back in April.

Sentnor Sets the Tone

The headline debut belonged to Ally Sentnor, who made her first appearance for Angel City and wasted no time getting involved. She fired the match's first shot in the opening minute, had it blocked, then had another blocked in the 14th and pulled one wide from the middle of the box in the 24th. ESPN's data credited her with five fouls drawn, and Angel City said she led the high press and took several set pieces. That is a lot of job description for one night.

Orlando's best moment of the half came early and hit metal. In the seventh minute, Luana unloaded from outside the box and smacked the left post. That turned out to be the closest the Pride came for a long time.

Angel City kept leaning. Anna Moorhouse saved a Jun Endo shot from a tight angle in the 16th minute, and Jónsdóttir slid a shot just wide from the middle of the box in the 34th.

The Rebound That Broke It Open

The breakthrough came in the 36th minute. Ary Borges let fly from outside the box, Orlando blocked it, and the ball dropped for Niehues in the middle of the area. She hammered a left-footed finish into the bottom left corner for 1-0. Angel City said it was her fourth goal of the season, making her the club's leading scorer.

Niehues nearly doubled it two minutes later, missing to the right, and Moorhouse had to stretch to keep out a Jónsdóttir strike headed for the top right corner in the 41st. Orlando's only other first-half shot was an Angelina effort from more than 35 yards that missed in stoppage time. Neither of the Pride's two first-half attempts tested Anderson.

Jónsdóttir Pounces

Pride coach Seb Hines made two changes at halftime, sending on Nicole Payne for Hailie Mace and Marta for Luana. Angel City answered by turning up the pressure again. Moorhouse saved a Carina Lageyre shot in the 47th, and Evelyn Shores just missed to the left in the 48th.

The second goal was the turning point, and it came straight out of Angel City's pressing plan. In the 56th minute, according to the club, Jónsdóttir stripped Orlando defender Rafaelle, charged into the right side of the box and fired low across Moorhouse into the bottom left corner. ESPN placed the shot on the right side of the six-yard box. Either way, the Pride were suddenly chasing two goals with plenty of time left and very few clear chances in the bank.

Smerud was quick to praise his forward.

"She has the quality to run in behind to press well, and I saw Sveindís giving everything she had to the team, as she always does," Smerud said.

Orlando Pushes, Anderson Holds

Orlando threw on Zara Chavoshi and Solai Washington in the 63rd minute and Hannah Anderson in the 77th. Marta, per Angel City, became the focal point of the Pride attack, and she was booked in the 68th. Angel City replaced Jónsdóttir with Riley Tiernan in the 69th and Niehues with Claire Emslie in the 73rd.

Moorhouse made another save on Endo in the 78th. Then, in the 80th, Washington broke in from the left side of the box and finally forced Anderson into action. The Angel City goalkeeper got down to save it at the bottom left corner. It was the Pride's only shot on target all night. Angelina had a shot blocked in the 81st, Tiernan headed high in the 90th, and Washington's last chance was blocked in stoppage time.

"All credit to the players. They left everything on the pitch," Smerud said.

Who Shined

Maiara Niehues scored the opener and took two shots before leaving in the 73rd minute.

Sveindís Jónsdóttir scored on one of her three shots, put two on target and created the second goal with her own pressure.

Ally Sentnor tied for the team lead with three shots in her debut and spent the night drawing fouls.

Angelina Anderson only needed one save, but it was a good one, and it preserved the clean sheet.

For Orlando, Anna Moorhouse made four saves, twice denying Endo, and kept the margin from growing.

The Numbers

• Shots: Angel City 14, Orlando 5.
• Shots on goal: Angel City 6, Orlando 1.
• Possession: Orlando 56.9 percent, Angel City 43.1.
• Saves: Moorhouse 4, Anderson 1.
• Tackles: Orlando won 16 of 23.

Where It Leaves Them

Angel City improves to five wins, one draw and six losses with 16 points, one point behind Orlando. The win ended a two-match losing run after defeats to the Houston Dash and the North Carolina Courage in May, and it was Angel City's first clean sheet since a 0-0 draw at Portland on May 17. Next up is a trip down the coast to face San Diego Wave FC on Saturday, July 11.

Orlando drops to five wins, two draws and six losses with 17 points, ending a two-game winning streak. The Pride's recap noted the loss ended their run of eight straight matches with a goal, one shy of the club record of nine set in 2024. It was also, per Orlando, only the fourth time in club history the Pride have lost to a California-based opponent. The Pride host the Kansas City Current on Friday, July 10.

Final Thought

Coaching debuts are usually about vibes, and Angel City delivered plenty: a high press, a debutante in Sentnor and a goal born from pure pressure. Smerud summed it up as a team that "showed character." For one Friday in July, it felt like the opening scene of a reboot that actually understood the assignment.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and additional details as reported by AngelCity.com and the Orlando Pride on OrlandoCitySC.com.