Gotham’s Freya Coombe hired as head coach of Angel City FC

Angel City FC has officially hired their first head coach ahead of their debut season in the NWSL in 2022.

NJ/NY Gotham FC coach Freya Coombe is set to become the club’s first head coach, the team announced Monday morning.

Robert Udberg, who currently leads the CHX Challenge, will join Coombe as an assistant coach and performance director.

On Monday morning, Gotham FC sent out a series of tweets thanking Coombe for her contributions to the club over the past three seasons and wishing her “nothing but success in LA.”

Thank you Freya 👏

Ownership thanks Coach Coombe for her outstanding two-and-a-half years of service with Gotham FC. She has led us to increased success on the field and helped us develop a strong, gritty culture representative of our communities. pic.twitter.com/cKvuN5BT4p

— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) August 23, 2021

We will miss Coach Coombe and wish her nothing but success in LA, (except when she plays us).

Ownership and Interim General Manager Yael Averbuch West are working with Coach Coombe to ensure a smooth coaching transition.

— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) August 23, 2021

Coombe has played a pivotal role in rebuilding Gotham FC, formerly known as Sky Blue FC, since assuming the role in 2019. In two and a half years with the club, Coombe has amassed a 10-8-11 record. Under her predecessor, Denise Reddy, Sky Blue won one game from from 2017 until she was fired in June 2019.

This past spring, Coombe led Gotham FC to the Challenge Cup Final, where they lost to the Portland Thorns on penalty kicks. The team is currently 5-6-3 in the NWSL regular season and in the playoff hunt at fifth in the standings.

Coombe’s hire comes after reports last month that Angel City FC had been targeting North Carolina Courage assistant coach Sean Nahas for the role. Following widespread backlash, the team released a statement that the search was “ongoing.”

Coombe is set to join Angel City at the conclusion of the 2021 season.