Becky Tweed took over Angel City FC midway through the season when former head coach Freya Coombe was sacked, with the team languishing at the bottom of the league and with little hope of making the play-offs.

On Sunday, the Tweed beat one of the league’s best teams, the Portland Thorns, 5-1 to clinch a spot in the postseason.

Should Tweed be coach of the year? Perhaps unsurprisingly, her players are all in favor.

“Becky did a great job,” defender Sarah Gordon said. “We only lost one game, can another coach say that?”

Defenseman MA Vignola agreed and credited Tweed with her approach to players as a reason for her success.

“She knows exactly what it takes to get around,” Vingola said. “She knows how we work, she knows how to talk to us and how each player works. Even in training, you can tell that she gets along very well with everyone, and that helps us as a group because it helps us. It’s just about communicating a certain way or pushing each other.”