Angel City adds top Japanese defender in a bold move to strengthen its backline | OneFootball

Angel City FC continue to build their roster ahead of the 2025 NWSL season, announcing the signing of defender Miyabi Moriya. The Japanese star has been one of the best players in the WE League and has signed a deal through 2025, with a club option for 2026.

With Moriya's addition, the team now has more depth in defense and even more international experience.

Who is Miyabi Moriya, and what can she bring to Angel City?

Moriya has played 118 matches, scoring eight goals for INAC Kobe Leonessa, one of the most traditional clubs in Japanese soccer, since 2015. In 2023, she was selected as WE League MVP and chosen to the best XI of the season.

Her influence goes beyond club soccer: in 2023, Moriya made her professional debut for the Japan women's national team, joining the team for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and making an appearance in the 2-0 victory against Costa Rica. She had represented Japan in the 2016 U-20 Women's World Cup.

Moriya joins Angel City bringing not only technical quality but also international experience, something that can be important to any team that wants to find its identity in the NWSL.

What does Angel City expect from Moriya?

The front office of ACFC made it clear Moriya signed to elevate the team level. According to the sporting director Mark Parsons: "She is a versatile talent with incredible game intelligence, which will allow our coaching staff to continue evolving our style of play."

This means that Moriya is not just joining as a roster addition but as an important piece in the team's defensive scheme. Her versatility, along with her international experience, can provide new tactical options and strengthen the defense against the increasingly intense attacks in the league.

Another intriguing angle for her is, of course, the relationship she has with both Jun Endo and Hannah Stambaugh, three Japanese stars who have known each other since childhood, in and out of the field and in INAC Kobe Leonessa. Perhaps because of that kind of rapport with some teammates can get her across to NWSL mode pretty sooner.

Angel City's backline is actually strong

While Angel City have been working on strengthening their squad, the arrival of Moriya can be termed strategic, but the NWSL being one of the difficult leagues adaptation will always play an important role. Definitely, having an experienced and award-winning defender will be an asset, but how useful this signing will prove only time will tell. Will the signing of Moriya turn out to be the key to a stronger team?

The quicker Moriya gets adapted and sustains the level of performance that earned her the WE League MVP, the more vital she could become for the core of Angel City. It will be intriguing to see how the team fits her into the defensive system, whether this signing will be a first step toward more solidity for the team or another patch attempt to give strength to a backline that's still out of balance.