Sydney Leroux trade: Angel City FC address Christen Press injury void in trade with Orlando Pride

Wed, Jun 29, 2022
Soccer News (AP)

have acquired forward Sydney Leroux in a trade with , the clubs announced on Wednesday. The trade comes after Angel City forward Christen Press sustained a season-ending ACL injury and Orlando Pride head coach Amanda Cromwell and first assistant coach Sam Greene were .

The league had imposed a brief freeze on player movement for Orlando in light of the ongoing investigation, but that has since been lifted. The Pride have now bought out the contract of defender Amy Turner'and pulled off this trade where they will receive ACFC's natural first-round pick in 2024, $75,000 in allocation money, plus the potential for an additional $10,000 allocation money in 2022 and another $10,000 in 2023 if Leroux meets certain performance-based criteria.'

"We are delighted to welcome Sydney Leroux to Angel City," said ACFC Sporting Director Eniola Aluko. "Sydney has valuable experience as an NWSL player that will be a great asset to the team. Sydney's goal-scoring ability, her tenacity, and her passion on the field will be exciting for our fans to watch. We are also delighted to add another mother of two beautiful children to our team and organization."

For Leroux, who scored the game-winner for Orlando against Angel City earlier this season, this move represents as a bit of a homecoming for the experienced striker. She played her collegiate soccer days in California with UCLA where she led the Bruins in scoring for three consecutive seasons (2008-2011). Leroux will be a natural fit for Angel City; she's a striker that encompasses ball-poaching ability and a relentless effort to win the ball both on offense and defense.'

"I am so excited to be a part of Angel City and everything being built with this club," said Leroux. "The atmosphere I felt playing at the Banc [of California Stadium] on Mother's Day was unbelievable. It really feels like I'm coming home, between going to UCLA and living in LA. Angel City is truly putting women's soccer on the map in Los Angeles and it shows if you invest in women, great things will happen. I am excited to be a part of that."

Want more coverage of the United States women's national team? Listen below and make sure to follow'Attacking Third, A AP Soccer Podcast'devoted to bringing you everything you need to know from the USWNT, NWSL and around the globe.

The move comes ahead of Angel City's next match, on Friday July 1, against the Portland Thorns (10:30 p.m. ET |'Paramount+). The club is currently in sixth place with 13 points after nine games played this season.'

Paramount+'is the only place to stream every minute of every match in the Concacaf W Championship. You can quickly and easily sign up for your very own account right now with a free one-month trial (from June 27-July 19) by'using GLORY as your offer code. Just click on the "try it free" button and use the promo code for instant access to the best women's soccer -- NWSL, FA Women's Super League, UEFA Women's World Cup qualifiers and AFC Women's Asian Cup -- across all your devices. '