Angel City FC acquires Sydney Leroux from Orlando Pride

Angel City FC has acquired forward Sydney Leroux from the Orlando Pride, helping offset the loss of forward Christen Press.

Orlando will receive Angel City’s natural first-round pick in 2024, $75,000 in allocation money and an additional $10,000 in allocation money in 2022 and $10,000 in 2023 if Leroux meets performance-based criteria.

The UCLA alum was the Pride’s leading goal scorer in 2018 and 2021. She has scored 14 goals across 46 appearances with the Pride dating back to 2018. Leroux, 32, has two children, Cassius and Roux. She took much of 2019 off while pregnant with her daughter.

Leroux, known for her toughness, will add a strong goal-scoring threat to the lineup after Press suffered a season-ending torn ACL.

“We are delighted to welcome Sydney Leroux to Angel City,” Angel City sporting director Eniola Aluko said in a news release. “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.”

Leroux was a member of the U.S. women’s national team from 2011–2017, scoring 35 international goals. She was featured on the 2012 London Olympics squad that won a gold medal and the 2015 squad that won the Women’s World Cup.

“I am so excited to be a part of Angel City and everything being built with this club,” Leroux said. “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 L.A.”