Welcome to the Riley Tiernan Revenge Tour.
Oh, sure, the Angel City forward is far too nice to call it that, but that’s what her first NWSL season has become.
“Everybody loves an underdog story,” she said. “It kind of added fuel to my fire. When people doubt you, it makes you want to prove it that much more.”
Tiernan was definitely being doubted about six months ago when she finished her college career at Rutgers as the school’s all-time leader in assists, yet didn’t get a call from 12 of the 14 NWSL teams. In the first winter without a league draft, every player was a free agent, available to the highest bidder. Only no one bid on Tiernan.
So she accepted an invitation to training camp with Angel City and now she’s showing the others what they missed, with her five goals leading all NWSL rookies and ranking second in the league overall heading into Saturday night’s home match with Racing Louisville.
“A fair shot,” said the 22-year-old. “All I wanted, literally, was just a chance to prove myself. Without the draft it was kind of like you get what you get and you’ve got to hope for the best.
“Once I got this invitation it was ‘let’s go big or go home.’ I got to show out. And pretty much did.”
Four of her five goals have given her team a lead; two were game-winners. Without her, Angel City (4-3-2) would not be in playoff position a third of the way into the season.
If Tiernan gets credit for passing her preseason test with the team, then technical director Mark Wilson and the rest of Angel City’s staff deserve praise for doing their homework. They identified Tiernan as a player worth watching last summer and nothing they saw — even the lack of interest from other clubs — swayed their thinking.
“We decided Riley was a top, top target once we’d kind of curated all of her stuff,” Wilson said. “You have to trust your process.”
So in November, Wilson had a Zoom call with Tiernan and found that he liked the person even better than he liked the player.
“That was the final piece of the puzzle,” he said. “We believed she had a big ceiling after watching her and we wanted to at least invite Riley in to spend some time with us.
“We really liked her character after the interview.”
Tiernan said the only other offer she received came from Gotham FC, which trains 35 miles from Rutgers. But after spending her entire life in South Jersey, she felt Southern California offered a different sort of challenge.
“It just felt like it was time for me to spread my wings and step out of my comfort zone,” she said. “I had nothing to lose. After the first couple of training sessions, I started feeling comfortable and I started feeling like it was a place that I should be, an environment where I belonged.”
She’s certainly fit in, starting all nine Angel City matches and ranking second among outfield players in minutes played. Plus her five goals are just two shy of the franchise single-season record with 17 games left.
“She’s a big presence, but she turns on a sixpence,” Wilson said. “She has the ability to send players into the stands with a little check and her balance and mobility for a big presence is deceiving.
“She exhibited all of those qualities and more in all the work we did.”
She’s continued to prove she belongs despite playing as an attacker on a team that has seven forwards with World Cup experience.
“Isn’t it funny how that worked out?” Wilson said with a wry grin. “While we had quality attacking players, we want you looking over your shoulder. When you’re looking over your shoulder, you’re not comfortable. When you’re not comfortable, you’re pushing yourself. That level of competition for places drives standards and performance.
“Riley exhibited that from Day 1 and it hasn’t stopped. I don’t see her ever taking her foot off the gas.”
At least not until she’s finished proving herself to all those who doubted her. If she was once unwanted she’s now in high demand, having earned her first callup to the U-23 national team earlier this week. She’ll leave after Saturday’s game for Europe and two games against Germany, which constitute another new challenge.
“I think it’s good to have a sense of humbleness and be intimidated by such a high level in a new environment,” she said. “But I also think it’s important to turn that intimidation into motivation.”
It wouldn’t be the first time Tiernan has used others’ opinion of her to fuel her fire.
“I love this game because it does reward talent that works hard,” Wilson said. “Riley’s a talent, she is working hard, and eventually that value will be recognized.”
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