Boston Legacy FC fell 5-2 in its first meeting against Angel City FC at Gillette Stadium on Monday.
The game kicked off to an exciting start thanks to a couple of Massachusetts natives, but quickly turned sour after Boston allowed three goals in the first half and two more in the second.
The defeat marked BLFC’s (5-12-5) fourth consecutive loss. The club has earned only one point since the start of August and currently sits at 15th in the league with 20 points, only four points ahead of last place.
Head coach Filipa Patão made five changes to her previous starting lineup. Laurel Ivory earned her debut and first start in the net, accompanied by Emerson Elgin, Jorelyn Carabali, and Deja Davis in the back. Nicki Hernandez and Nichelle Prince took the wings with Alba Caño, Annie Karich, and Josefine Hasbo in the midfield. Sammy Smith and Aïssata Traoré started up top.
Here are four thoughts from the game:
South Shore Selects
The opening eight minutes of the match belonged to Hanson, Massachusetts. ACFC’s Ally Sentnor and BLFC’s Smith are from the same town and were the first on the board for their respective teams.
The Angels’ first corner kick resulted in a classic Sentnor goal from outside the box in the fifth minute. Los Angeles played the ball short to the unmarked midfielder, who then blasted the ball past Ivory.
Smith responded three minutes later to keep the Hanson goals going. Prince collected the ball in the box and evaded pressure to pass to Smith; she quickly turned to face the goal from the edge of the box and pinged the ball into the far post.
Another goal from a MA native! Sammy Smith's strike sneaks through and Boston are on the board 👏
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) August 31, 2026 at 8:20 PM
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The play resembled what the team had worked on in training the week before.
“That was a space that we were going to look for–a little cutback–and I had a similar opportunity like that in practice the other day, and I didn't shoot,” she said after the game. “I just told myself, ‘Next time, just shoot,’ and so I kind of just swung and I slipped, but it went in.”
Smith is now tied with Amanda Gutierres as the team’s second-leading goalscorer with five goals, and Prince continues to lead the team with four assists.
Another Seven-Goal Game
Angel City pinned Boston in its own half during the first 45. The Legacy was unable to keep control of the ball or regain possession as Angel City became more compact, and there seemed to be more miscommunication as players fell back to help out on defense. Shoddy clearances and turnovers followed, sometimes caused by multiple players going for the same ball.
Prisca Chilufya gave Los Angeles the lead once more after a failed corner kick clearance sent the ball her way. Her shot from outside the box deflected off of Carabali and into the net. Sveindís Jónsdóttir added a third after outrunning Elgin and striking the ball between Ivory and the front post.
Naturally, the amount of players on defense hindered BLFC’s ability to send the ball up since the outlets were sparse. Boston insisted on playing out from the back despite not being able to consistently connect passes and succumbing to Angel City’s pressure.
Boston ended the first half with 49% possession, two shots, and 16 final third entries. Angel City put up 10 shots and had 28 final third entries.
The start of the second had more of the same errors. Chilufya scored the fourth LA goal in the 58th minute after recovering a loose ball and making an unmarked run into the box. Ivory blocked her first shot, but the forward was quick to get to the rebound before Elgin and Davis could make contact and slotted it into the back post. Less than 10 minutes later, ACFC’s Maiara Niehues received a pass outside of the box and was able to strike in the fifth goal as three defenders closed in on her.
Patão’s substitutions in the second half injected life into the Legacy’s game. Sarah Schupansky made her debut in the 62nd minute to replace Hasbo, and Barbara Olivieri and Bianca St-Georges came in for Prince and Karich. Amanda Allen and Amanda Gutierres subbed in for Elgin and Hernandez at the 71st minute, leading to slight positional changes. Smith and St-Georges settled into defensive roles on the wings and Guti played as the 9 with Aïssata and Allen at her sides.
BLFC played like a brand new team in the final 20 minutes, as is customary at this point. Boston became aggressive in its pressure, leaving the Angels less time to make decisions and more error-prone. Angel City continued to play through the Swans despite giving up some possession and had several scoring opportunities but was ultimately unable to convert anything after its fifth goal. The Swans were finally able to stretch the field and cause enough trouble in the final third to earn set pieces.
Traoré seamlessly headed in a ball off a Schupansky corner kick in the 88th minute, netting her seventh goal of the season.
Aïssata Traoré brings one back for Boston 🙌
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) August 31, 2026 at 9:57 PM
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LA held 54% possession in the second half and recorded another 10 shots, including three in the last 20 minutes. Boston took a total of eight shots with seven occurring in the last 21 minutes. The Swans also had 21 final third entries as opposed to LA’s 27.
Debuts
It was a mixed bag for the Legacy debutants on Monday.
Ivory conceded five goals and made four saves for her first start in the net. Her debut was less than ideal, but her teammates did not make her job any easier.
The goalkeeper is expected to start Friday’s game against the Utah Royals. Casey Murphy is nursing a minor finger injury, but will be available as a substitute.
Schupansky’s 28 minutes on the field showed what she’s bringing to the table, most notably in improved set-piece plays. Before Monday’s game, Boston had taken 85 corner kicks, two of which resulted in goals.
The newcomer took Caño’s role as the designated set-piece taker and ended up leading the team in chances created (4). The one free kick and three corners she took were perfectly placed, each connecting with one of her teammates in the box, and even gave her her first Legacy assist.
State of the Defense
The 5-2 loss marked the most goals Boston has conceded in a game thus far. This was also the third time that the Legacy has lost by three, which is the team’s highest goal differential.
Four of the goals were avoidable, Hernandez said after the game.
“We have to learn from this game and forget the result,” she said in Spanish. “We’ll have to review all the tape [but] remain focused on the upcoming games.”
Coach Patão believes her team’s downfall was because of small mistakes rather than overall tactics. Though Boston’s offensive game has improved since the start of the season, giving chances away so easily is overshadowing the club’s progress.
“It’s not a question of what we’re doing with the ball [when in possession,]” she said. “We’re not marking in all of the games, we’re just suffering.”
The Legacy is now second in the league for set-piece goals conceded (9).
“In this league, you're going to have consequences with these mistakes,” Patão said. “So it's not about what I can change or not in the halftime, it’s how we can change mentally to not make the same mistakes over and over again.”
Over the last five games, the Legacy has given up 16 goals, including three from penalties, two from corners, and one from a free kick. Patão has confidence in her defenders, as each player has shown her that they can deliver a solid performance, she said.
The back line combinations have been anything but consistent. The week-to-week changes are a result of injuries and fluctuating performances, according to the coach.
“[When] we need to change the defensive line so much, of course it’s hard, right? Because it’s one place that you really need consistency and understanding what the player next to you is going to do [and] manage things,” the coach said. “But it’s how our players right now are dealing with the mistakes.”
With Laís Araújo and Kaká off the injury list, we may see more of the same in the remaining eight games of the season. The two last played on July 5 and March 21, respectively, and have had limited to no minutes playing alongside newcomers Lilly Reale and Deja Davis, as well as other players who have made appearances in the back.
The Swans have a long road ahead, as the club has previously lost to all of its remaining opponents.
Boston Legacy FC will face the Utah Royals at 9:30 p.m. Friday in Sandy, Utah. Fans will be able to tune in on NWSL+ and NBC Sports Boston.
