Angel City FC midfielder Ary Borges, second from left, celebrates with teammates after she scores a goal against the Chicago Stars FC during the second half of Angel City FC’s home opener match at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Angel City FC won 4-0. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Angel City FC midfielder Maiara Niehues (12) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Chicago Stars FC during the second half of Angel City FC’s home opener match at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Angel City FC won 4-0. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Angel City FC midfielder Evelyn Shores, center, celebrates after scoring a goal against the Chicago Stars FC during the second half of Angel City FC’s home opener match at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Angel City FC won 4-0. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Angel City FC midfielder Kennedy Fuller (17), midfielder Maiara Niehues, center, and midfielder Ary Borges dance in celebration of Fuller’s goal against the Chicago Stars FC during the first half of Angel City FC’s home opener match at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Angel City FC won 4-0. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Angel City FC midfielder Kennedy Fuller, center, is mobbed by teammates after she scores a goal against the Chicago Stars FC during the first half of Angel City FC’s home opener match at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Angel City FC won 4-0. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
Angel City FC midfielder Maiara Niehues, right, controls the ball against the Chicago Stars FC during the second half of Angel City FC’s home opener match at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Angel City FC won 4-0. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
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Angel City FC midfielder Ary Borges, second from left, celebrates with teammates after she scores a goal against the Chicago Stars FC during the second half of Angel City FC’s home opener match at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Angel City FC won 4-0. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr., Contributing Photographer)
LOS ANGELES — Angel City Football Club has searched for success and consistency throughout its previous four years.
The club has only made the playoffs once (2023), and the last two years have finished 12th and 11th, respectively, well off the NWSL playoff consideration.
The 2026 season has been described by some as a “rebuilding” year, others have deemed it an “important” year and coach Alex Straus has labeled things a “process.”
Sunday, the rebuilding, important, process that is the 2026 season kicked off in dominating fashion with a 4-0 win over the Chicago Stars at BMO Stadium in front of 16,813.
The start of the fifth season brings a mixture of excitement and uncertainty to Angel City FC, with this being the first full season under Straus, who officially took over last June.
After Straus moved from Bayern Munich last season, the club struggled to learn his style, winning just three times in 16 games. Angel City ended the regular season, losing six of its last eight games, posting a 1-6-1 mark during that stretch.
Sunday’s opener was the perfect example of vision.
“This preseason he (Alex Straus) got his time to really structure us how he wanted,” ACFC midfielder Kennedy Fuller said. “He was able to bring in players that he thought were going to fit his style and I think with that, we were able to kind of mold into the team he wants and that’s something that is really hard as a coach to do in the timeframe that he had and so he was able to have this eight weeks (of preseason camp) to really hone in on …we had lots of meetings on exactly what he wanted, our meetings were very long and our trainings were very long, so we were really able to focus on exactly what he wanted and I’m hoping that y’all could see that on the field.
“I think something that a lot of us came off the field, off the bench, saying we had so much fun. And I think that’s something that this team brings and it’s a lot different than last year. We’re just having fun.”
It was Angel City’s first win in a season opener since the debut season of 2022. The club has only lost one season opener in its brief existence.
Fuller opened the scoring in the 39th minute.
After the break, Angel City poured on the pressure and delivered the knockout blow, scoring three goals, all on different ways. Evelyn Shores scored in the 53rd minute, thumping home a header from Fuller on a corner kick. In the 66th minute, Ary Borges stepped in front of a Chicago defender, intercepting a pass from goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and slipped the ball into the back of the net.
The final blow came in the 70th minute with Sveindís Jónsdóttir’s run down the left flank, setting up Miahara Niehues, making a late run in the middle, for the finish.
Angel City won the possession battle (60-40 percent) and limited Chicago to just two shots on goal.
“I hope we get better, to be honest,” Straus said. “That’s what our focus is all the time. Today was great and we went for it, but it doesn’t help us next weekend against the Bay (FC) and that the mentality that we need to have.
“We lost a few games last year on crucial times of the season and one of the things I tried to do is that we need to be stable, we need to be balanced. So today is great and we are enjoying tonight, winning 4-0…It’s a young team, we will have performances like today and we will have performances where we try to do this and we’re not successful.
“But if you look at the way we played, it’s a part of the vision and a part of what we want to bring to Angel City and why I came here and what we wanted to build about the game identity and the game also.”
The game also featured the official return to play for defender Savy King. King collapsed on the field last May and eventually underwent heart surgery. She made her return in preseason and came on, to a loud ovation, as a second-half substitute in the 63rd minute.
Angel City will be back in action Saturday at Bay FC.