At last, the 2025 NWSL regular season comes to an end. All 14 teams played their final games simultaneously on Sunday night in a decision-day format, giving fans an unforgettable moment. While all of the results were surprising in their own ways, it’s Angel City who once again managed to draw the most attention in a rather unfortunate way, having endured a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Chicago Stars. 

A win or even a draw for that moment wouldn’t have made a difference, considering the ACFC were already out of the playoff race. In their last five games, they managed to secure only one victory, with the rest of them resulting in a defeat. Particularly for this game, the expectations were much higher for Alexander Straus and Co. But keeping them only ended up hurting the fans even more.

The game began with Angel City taking the lead early in the first half, courtesy of a goal from Miyabi Moriya, who scored her first-ever goal for her team. Pressure from the home side wasn’t enough as the first half ended with a similar score line. Just when one would have hoped to see a similar display from the away team, they succumbed just a couple of minutes into the second half, as Chicago equalized in the 49th minute.

With the ground levelled, it was natural for either side to make some changes. Despite calling in the likes of Christen Press, Jun Endo, and Ali Riley (also her final season), it barely helped Angel City, as they conceded in the 90+8 minute. It only left them with no choice but to go back home empty-handed. The defeat saw the Chicago Stars finish their season at the bottom of the standings with a tally of just 20.

Meanwhile, ACFC finished 11th with a tally of 27 points [7W, 6D, 11L]. But guess what? Not finishing the NWSL campaign well or earning the playoff spot was the least of the ardent fans’ concerns!

Angel City receives backlash over Christen Press’ treatment!

Yep, you heard it correctly. The latest X post from Angel City, which shared the final result of this game, saw ardent fans taking to the comments section to call out the absence of Christen Press from the start. “San Diego started Alex Morgan pregnant, and Angel City can’t even start a healthy Christen Press, okay,” one wrote.

To fill you in, weeks ago, the 36-year-old American forward announced her retirement for good. Hence, tributes have been pouring in for the 2X World Cup winner since then, with the previous final NWSL home game saw Angel City curate a proper send-off ceremony after the game. However, that had also ended in bitter disappointment as they lost 0-2 to Portland Thorns.

So as this game was no exception, with Press not even earning a significant start, boy do fans have the right to be angry with the team. “Alex Straus, you could have had a Christian Press giving you scoring chances like this since you took over the team, but your incompetence got in your way. I have to laugh,” added another.

Since the beginning of this season, things have been off track for Angel City. Coaching issues saw them make significant management changes, with Mark Parsons taking the interim coach role. It wasn’t until June that they permanently signed Alexander Straus. While his arrival gave hope to many that things would change for both the team and Christen Press to earn more gametime, things rather took a weird U-turn.

Yes, even though there were no significant injuries or any other issues with her. Boy, given the support of the USWNT veteran, we wonder what will happen next season when this star player isn’t there. Well, this fan had some idea: “Christen Press was your best forward tonight yet again. You wasted her final year. Enjoy Cancun and half-empty stadiums next season. Players and fans deserve better.”

At least, the rivals have always been respectful of Christen Press, with today’s game seeing the Chicago Stars literally presenting the former Manchester United star with flowers and an ovation from their own crowd before the match began. And here is Alexander Straus and his team, not starting CP23 for one last time. “Embarrassing, pathetic joke of a pyramid scheme that will never be a real football club. Christen Press deserves better than your nonsense,” wrote another.

Well, the good thing is that after this, Christen Press will still remain in touch with the game; for those unaware, she runs a podcast with her partner and ex-USWNT star Tobin Heath. And guess what? It’s only a matter of time, we will get to hear more interesting stories from Press, at least this fan believes: “Can’t wait for the Christian Press tell-all about how this staff ruined her last season of professional football.”

So it’s no surprise to see that, after today’s game, fans had to step up to express their bitter disappointment, not only with the defeat, but more with the treatment of Christen Press. Either way, it’s a wrap for both the team and the player, as it remains to be seen how Angel City lives their life without their iconic player next season.