Prisca Chilufya's Volley Off the Bench Earns Angel City a 2-2 Draw at Seattle Reign

Seattle Reign FC spent two minutes early in the second half looking like a team about to run away with the night. Angel City FC spent the next 20 making sure it did not.

The clubs drew 2-2 on Sunday night at Lumen Field, and the equalizer came from a player who had been on the field for roughly three minutes. Prisca Chilufya, a 69th-minute substitute, volleyed in Evelyn Shores' long ball from a tight angle on the right in the 72nd minute to cancel out quick-fire goals from Sally Menti and Mia Fishel. Gisele Thompson had given Angel City a first-half lead in front of 7,102 fans.

Angel City Controls the Opening Act

Seattle has made a habit of fast starts, and Angel City interim head coach Leif Smerud said his side came in knowing it. The visitors largely neutralized that threat. Ary Borges sent an early effort over in the 10th minute, and Angel City won four first-half corners to Seattle's one, per the club.

The Reign had their moments. Maddie Mercado headed over in the 12th minute after a Menti cross, and Angelina Anderson had to deal with two Seattle headers, from Mercado in the 23rd and Menti in the 31st. At the other end, Claudia Dickey saved from Taylor Suarez in the 22nd.

Then, in the 32nd minute, Thompson took over. Borges found her, the defender carried the ball into the right side of the box, and Angel City's recap said she beat two defenders before slipping a low left-footed shot past Dickey into the bottom right corner. The club said it was her fourth goal of the season.

"Just having the space that my teammates created for me was really helpful, and switching the ball faster gave me a lot more space to go [one-on-one]," Thompson said.

Angel City nearly doubled it before the break, with Ally Sentnor and Borges both blocked in a scramble in the 42nd minute and Carina Lageyre dragging a shot just wide. It went to halftime 1-0.

Two Minutes of Menti and Fishel

The Reign flipped the match in a blink. In the 50th minute, Seattle's press forced Anderson to clear, Ryanne Brown headed it to Fishel, and Fishel flicked it on for Menti, who finished left-footed from the middle of the box into the bottom right corner.

Two minutes later they swapped roles. Menti took a pass with her back to goal at the top of the box and one-touched it sideways to Fishel, whose left-footed strike from outside the area flew into the top left corner. It was the kind of goal that gets replayed on loop. Seattle led 2-1.

Thompson admitted the visitors had drifted. "We got a little bit too comfortable in the beginning of the half, and those goals brought us back to reality a little bit," she said.

The Bench Answers

Angel City kept coming. Dickey saved from Claire Emslie in the 60th minute and pushed away a Riley Tiernan blast in the 61st, and Lageyre and Suarez both missed after the resulting corners. Smerud then sent on Shores and Chilufya together in the 69th. Three minutes later, Shores lofted a long ball to the right, and Chilufya met it first time, volleying past Dickey into the bottom left corner from a difficult angle.

"I was just focusing on how the game was going on the bench, and I thought that if I go in, I should bring some energy to the game because the girls were pushing so hard," Chilufya said.

Smerud's verdict on the goal was simple: "perfect ball from Evelyn, and a fantastic finish from Prisca."

Seattle pushed for a winner. Anderson tipped a powerful Angharad James-Turner shot over the bar in the 83rd minute, then saved again from Mercado in the 93rd after Dickey had stopped Sentnor at the other end a minute earlier. Holly Ward dragged one wide in the 94th, and Seattle could not find another opening.

Stars of the Night

Menti and Fishel both finished with a goal and an assist. The Reign said it was the first time either player had done both in the same match. Menti's goal was her second of the season and third of her career, while Fishel's was her third NWSL goal. Menti put both of her shots on target. Fishel only needed one.

Mercado, Seattle's leading scorer, did not find the net but was the Reign's most persistent threat with five shots, two on target.

For Angel City, Thompson was the best player on the field in the first half, and Chilufya made the most of her minutes in her first appearance since returning from international duty with Zambia at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, per the club. Shores' assist was her club-leading fourth of the season.

The Turning Point

The double substitution in the 69th minute. Seattle had absorbed Angel City's push around the hour mark and looked set to manage the game out. Instead, Smerud's two changes combined for the equalizer within three minutes of coming on, and a match that had tilted firmly toward the Reign was suddenly level again.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: 16 apiece, with 6 on target for each side.
• Saves: Dickey 4, Anderson 4.
• Corners: Angel City 8, Seattle 3.
• Tackles: Angel City attempted 23 and won 11, Seattle 6 of 10.
• Clearances: Seattle 29, Angel City 18.

What It Means

The point leaves both teams at an identical 7-3-7 with 24 points. Seattle had won its previous two matches, at San Diego and at Bay FC, and the Reign said this was their fifth straight match with multiple goals. They host Chicago Stars FC on Friday, Aug. 14.

Angel City's club recap called it a second straight road draw, after a 1-1 result at Kansas City, and said the team has lost just once in six matches since Smerud took over. Angel City returns to BMO Stadium to host the Washington Spirit on Sunday, Aug. 16.

Closing Take

This one had a three-act structure worthy of a summer blockbuster: a smart first act from Angel City, a two-minute Seattle montage, and a twist ending from the bench. Smerud summed up the equalizer best. "That goal was very important for us," he said, and a point at Lumen Field after trailing in the second half is the kind of result a team can build on.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by AngelCity.com; additional match details from ReignFC.com.