"RILEY TIERNAN SETS up just inside the box on a misty Los Angeles day at the end of March. She watches as Angel City FC teammate Katie Zelem kicks the ball wide to Claire Emslie, positioned toward the far-left side of the goal. Emslie crosses the ball about 12 yards out. With three Seattle Reign defenders closing in on her, Tiernan propels her body into the air and heads the ball into the top left corner of the goal, far out of reach."
"Not bad for someone who didn't have a contract four weeks earlier. Now, Tiernan, 23, is one of three finalists for the Rookie of the Year award, which will be announced at the NSWL Awards at 5:30 tonight on ESPN2. Seattle's Maddie Dahlien and Gotham FC's Lilly Reale are also nominated. Tiernan's path to this moment has been unconventional: Two weeks before the NWSL season began, she was still a non-roster invitee to training camp."
""She's gone from underdog to star," says Julie Uhrman, Angel City president and co-founder. "She wasn't recruited. She had to fight to be seen, fight to have a place on the roster, fight to have a place in the starting 11. She's won every single one of those fights." It didn't take long for Tiernan to make an impression this season. In early May, after scoring five goals, she led all 42 rookies in goals and ranked second in the Golden Boot race."
Riley Tiernan earned a roster spot after entering Angel City FC as a non-roster invitee just weeks before the season. She started every regular-season match, totaling 2,200 minutes, scored eight goals, recorded one assist, and had 18 shots on target. By early May she had five goals, leading all 42 rookies and ranking second in the Golden Boot race. Angel City finished 7-6-13 and missed the playoffs, but Tiernan became a Rookie of the Year finalist alongside Maddie Dahlien and Lilly Reale. Tiernan grew up in Voorhees, New Jersey, often joining backyard games with older players.
Read at ESPN.com
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