Savy King returned to action for the first time in over 10 months when she came on as a substitute during Angel City FC‘s win over Chicago Stars FC on Sunday night in Los Angeles.
The 21-year-old had not played since May 9, 2025, when she suffered a cardiac event on the field during a game against the Utah Royals that required her to get open heart surgery.
King jogged onto the field in the 63rd minute to a rousing ovation from the home crowd at BMO Stadium with Angel City leading 2-0. The hosts scored two more times after King came on to win their NWSL season opener 4-0.
“I’ve been doing everything possible in my power to be on the pitch in a game again. I’m so excited to be back and to be in a position to return to the pitch,” King told ESPN in February when she was removed from the season-ending injury list. “I think it’s going to be such a big moment for not just me but my family, the club, really everyone that has experienced something really hard in their life, especially a cardiac event.”
During the summer of 2025, King graduated from cardiac rehab at Cedars Sinai and was cleared to return to Angel City’s training facility for non-contact practice in the fall. This preseason, King was fully cleared for contact and returned to full practice with her Angel City teammates.
A few months after her cardiac event, King created Savy King of Hearts, a nonprofit dedicated to providing CPR awareness, preventive screenings and heart health advocacy.
King was drafted second overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft by Bay FC, making 20 NWSL match appearances in her rookie season and earning two assists in 1,220 minutes on the pitch.
King was traded to Angel City in February of 2025, where she signed a contract extension with the club through 2028. The Los Angeles native started in all seven Angel City matches, playing over 600 minutes for the club, before suffering her cardiac event on the pitch in May.
ESPN’s Charlotte Gibson contributed to this report.
