Tyler Lussi had one goal and one assist to lead the North Carolina Courage to a 2-0 victory over the Portland Thorns on Saturday night at Cary, N.C.
Haley Hopkins also had a goal and Casey Murphy made four saves as the Courage (3-1-0, nine points) won their second straight match.
Portland (0-3-1,1 point) had a 14-8 edge in shots but continues to struggle. Shelby Hogan made one save for the Thorns.
Lussi sent a right-footed shot into the left corner of the net in the fifth minute to give North Carolina the early lead. Lussi fed Hopkins for a header in the 35th minute, and the Courage protected the lead the rest of the way.
San Diego Wave 0, Racing Louisville 0
Host Louisville had a 71st-minute goal disallowed while playing San Diego to a draw.
Taylor Flint headed the ball into the net, but teammate Kayla Fischer was at the goal line obstructing San Diego goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan. The play was looked at via video review and the tally was negated with Fischer well offside on the play.
Racing Louisville had another strong chance in the 87th minute, but Sheridan made the save on Ary Borges’ close-range header. Sheridan had four saves for the Wave (1-1-1, 4 points). Katie Lund made two saves for Louisville (0-0-4, 4 points).
Angel City FC 1, Chicago Red Stars 0
A Chicago own goal accounted for the lone tally as Angel City recorded its first win of the season in the match at Bridgeview, Ill.
The goal occurred in the 40th minute as Angel City’s Claire Emslie took a free kick and booted it toward the net. The ball hit the foot of Chicago’s Maximiliane Rall, and the misdirection led to it squirting past Red Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.
Chicago (2-1-1, 7 points) had two solid chances to knot the score. Ally Schlegel’s header hit the crossbar in the 55th minute, and Jenna Bike’s header in the 63rd minute was wide to the left.
Naeher had two saves for the Red Stars, while DiDi Haracic made one stop for Angel City (1-2-1, 4 points).
–Field Level Media
