Overlapping from her left back position, Ali Riley one-timed a pass from her teammate Jun Endo into the netting with her left foot in the ninth minute of Angel City FC’s 2-1 triumph over the visiting San Diego Wave last Saturday night in front of 22,000 fans Saturday night at Banc of California Stadium next to the LA Coliseum.
It was the 34-year-old Riley’s first goal since the New Zealand national team captain joined the National Women’s Soccer League this season and she was as happy scoring for her new club as she would have been scoring in the World Cup.
Riley grew up on Kagawa in the Alphabet Streets, starred at St. Matthew’s School and Harvard-Westlake High and played collegiately at Stanford. She has played professionally for 14 years, starting with the Pali Blues of the USL W-League in 2009—a club which played it home games at Palisades High’s Stadium by the Sea. In 2010, Riley captured Rookie of the Year honors after powering her Bay Area FC Gold Pride to the Women’s Professional Soccer championship. She helped the Western New York Flash win the WPS crown the next year but when the league folded in 2012 she signed with FC Malmo (since re-named FC Rosengard) in Sweden and in her first game Riley assisted on the winning goal.
In January, Riley was dealt from Orlando to Angel City and since joining the squad she has made eight starts in nine games. Despite being a defender, she has tallied eight goals as a pro.
On the international stage, Riley has played in four FIFA World Cups and four Olympic Games.
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