Boston Legacy vs. Angel City Preview: Unbeaten Angel City Chases a Home Playoff Date

Angel City FC has spent two months refusing to lose, and on Sunday it gets one last regular-season swing at the thing that actually matters in November: a playoff game at home. Nine straight matches without a defeat have hauled Angel City up to fifth place, one point behind Kansas City and three behind Washington. Standing in the way is a Boston Legacy FC side with nothing left to play for except the joy of wrecking someone else's weekend.

Kickoff is 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. local) on Sunday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, one of eight NWSL Decision Day matches starting at the same moment. Angel City comes in at 14-7-8 (wins-draws-losses) with 49 points. Boston sits 13th at 9-6-14 with 33 points. It is also Angel City's annual Celebración de Culturas match, so the atmosphere should be loud even before anyone checks the other scores.

Fifth Place Is a Waiting Room

Angel City clinched its playoff berth in Week 26, per the league, so this is about seeding, not survival. The league's Decision Day preview lays out the pecking order: Washington (52 points) and Kansas City (50) currently hold the last two home quarterfinal spots, with fifth-place Angel City and sixth-place Utah lurking in case either one stumbles. The same preview is blunt about the downside. If Angel City loses, it is heading into the playoffs as a road team.

The run that got them here is legit. Since an Aug. 26 loss at North Carolina, Angel City has won seven and drawn two, with road wins at Boston, Louisville, Utah, Washington and Denver. Its plus-19 goal difference is the best in the league, ahead of even first-place Gotham's plus-14, and the club says last week's 2-0 win over Bay FC gave it the first 50-goal season in its history.

Boston was eliminated back in Week 23, but the Legacy have turned into a genuinely annoying out. They won 4-2 at Portland on Oct. 3, beat Racing Louisville 2-1 at home, then went to San Diego last Sunday and took a 2-2 draw off a team chasing the Shield. The league filed this match under a spoiler alert heading, and honestly, fair.

Where This One Gets Decided

The pressure point is the Boston goal. Casey Murphy, who leads the Legacy with 82 saves, is listed as out on the league's availability report with a season-ending knee injury. The next name on Boston's saves list is Laurel Ivory with 13, and Ivory was in net the last time these clubs met, an Aug. 31 game at Gillette Stadium that Angel City won 5-2. Angel City led 3-1 after 18 minutes that night and had five goals before the 70th minute, scored by four different players.

That is the problem for Boston in one sentence: Angel City does not rely on one finisher. Sveindís Jónsdóttir and Maiara Niehues have nine goals apiece, Evelyn Shores leads the team with eight assists, and Ally Sentnor has fired a team-high 63 shots. Gisele Thompson, Riley Tiernan and Taylor Suarez have all chipped in timely goals, which is how you get to 50 without a single 10-goal scorer.

Flip it around and Boston actually owns the two most prolific strikers on the field. Aïssata Traoré and Amanda Gutierres have 10 goals each, more than anyone in an Angel City shirt. The catch is the other end: per Angel City's preview, Boston has scored 40 and conceded 49. Angelina Anderson, meanwhile, has 10 clean sheets for Angel City, a club single-season record, and 79 saves. If Traoré and Gutierres cannot crack her early, this could get away from Boston the way the August meeting did.

Players to Watch

Gisele Thompson, Angel City. She opened the scoring against Bay FC in the 49th minute, her fifth goal of the season according to the club, and she has four assists on ESPN's leaders list. Interim head coach Leif Gunnar Smerud was effusive in the club's preview this week. "She can play every game, every minute," he said, adding, "She's a machine as well."

Sveindís Jónsdóttir, Angel City. Nine goals and 55 shots. She scored in Foxborough in August and is the most direct threat Boston will see.

Aïssata Traoré, Boston. Ten goals on a team-high 65 shots, and she headed in Boston's late consolation goal in the first meeting. If the Legacy score, she is the best bet.

Annie Karich, Boston. The midfield metronome, with 1,291 accurate passes, scored from close range at San Diego last week. She is the one who decides whether Boston can keep the ball long enough to make this uncomfortable.

Team News

Angel City is without Jun Endo and Hina Sugita, both listed out with season-ending knee injuries, and Prisca Chilufya, who scored twice in the 5-2 win in Foxborough, is also listed as out. Boston is missing Murphy, Fauzia Najjemba (thigh) and Chloe Ricketts (ankle), all on the season-ending list. Neither club has anyone listed as questionable.

By the Numbers

• DraftKings lists Angel City at -125 on the moneyline, Boston at +300 and the draw at +235, with a total of 2.5 goals, via ESPN, as of Saturday.
• Angel City is unbeaten in nine (seven wins, two draws) since Aug. 26.
• Head to head: one previous meeting, a 5-2 Angel City win at Gillette Stadium on Aug. 31.
• Boston's last three: a 4-2 win at Portland, a 2-1 win over Louisville and a 2-2 draw at San Diego.
• Anderson's 10 clean sheets are a club single-season record, per Angel City.

The Pick

Boston is dangerous enough to score, and the Legacy's last month proves they are not mailing it in. But Angel City has more ways to hurt you, a keeper in record form and a very clear reason to want three points. Without Murphy, Boston's margin for error shrinks to almost nothing.

Our pick: Angel City 2-1. Jónsdóttir and Thompson do the damage, Traoré gets one back, and Angel City spends the evening refreshing the Washington and Kansas City scores.

Odds from DraftKings via ESPN as of Oct. 31. Standings and stats from ESPN. Playoff picture and availability from NWSLsoccer.com. Club notes and quote from AngelCity.com.