Tyler Lussi keeps NC Courage undefeated at home in NWSL
By SUSIE RANTZ
Associated Press
Tyler Lussi scored her third goal in three matches, and the North Carolina Courage defeated the Seattle Reign 1-0 on Saturday afternoon in the National Women’s Soccer League.
The Courage (4-2-0) extended their home regular-season undefeated streak to 13 matches and have earned shutouts in 12 of their last 16 games at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.
In the 37th minute, Ashley Sanchez got the ball in space on the left side of the field and crossed it into the box for Lussi, who volleyed it in with the outside of her foot.
The Reign had several chances to equalize. Tziarra King smashed a shot off the post, Ji So-yun nearly snuck her shot into the right corner, and Casey Murphy came up with a big save on one of the last plays of the game to earn the shutout.
The Reign (1-5-0) have now lost five straight matches and sit at the bottom of the league.
Quinn, who helped Canada win a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics, came out for the Reign in the fifth minute with a knee injury.
THORNS 2, RED STARS 0
Sophia Smith scored twice to give the Portland Thorns a 2-0 win over the Chicago Red Stars at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. Smith now has a league-leading five goals in six games.
In the 10th minute, Smith took several dribbles in the box to create just enough space to shoot, finishing into the right corner.
She scored her second in the 26th minute, running onto Christine Sinclair’s pass and sliding her shot into the left corner.
Janine Beckie thought she gave Portland a third goal in the 79th minute when she picked off goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher’s pass and finished into an open goal, but a video review confirmed the ball deflected slightly off Smith’s arm.
Portland (2-3-1) has now won two straight games under interim head coach Rob Gale, who replaced Mike Norris after a poor start to the season.
Eighteen-year-old Olivia Moultrie subbed into the match for Portland and became the youngest player to feature in 50 games.
The Red Stars (3-2-1) finished with 11 shots in the second half but couldn’t find a goal. Mallory Swanson had a free kick pushed over the bar by Shelby Hogan in the game’s final minutes.
WAVE 2, BAY 1
Jaedyn Shaw’s 78th-minute goal gave the San Diego Wave a 2-1 home victory against Bay FC at Snapdragon Stadium.
It was the third road loss for Bay FC (2-4-0).
Makenzy Doniak got things started for the Wave (2-2-1) in the 13th minute. The forward cut inside to get the ball onto her right foot and sent her shot into the upper left corner. Kimmi Ascanio, getting her first start at 16 years old, assisted the play.
Just a few minutes into the second half, Kayla Sharples slammed a header off the crossbar, but the rebound fell right to Asisat Oshoala, who slipped it into the goal for Bay FC.
Shaw started and finished the game-winning goal. She passed to Emily Van Egmond near half, who gave it right back. Shaw then passed it to Savannah McCaskill and started sprinting into the box. McCaskill passed to Elyse Bennett on the right wing, who sent a ball on the ground into the box for Shaw to finish with her first touch.
Maria Sanchez made her Wave debut in the second half after requesting a trade with the Houston Dash.
ROYALS 0, DASH 0
The Utah Royals and Houston Dash played to a defensive scoreless draw at America First Field in Sandy, Utah.
Most of the action took place in the first half when Utah had eight of their 11 shots. In the 24th minute, Mikayla Cluff’s shot was saved by Jane Campbell. Just before the break, Campbell tipped another shot over the bar.
Houston’s best chance came when Diana Ordonez wove through the defense, but her shot was cleared off the line by Utah’s defense.
Ramona Bachmann, making her Dash debut after transferring from Paris Saint-Germain, had a shot blocked for a corner in the 60th minute.
The Royals (1-4-1) finished with four shots on target compared to Houston’s two.
It was an important shutout for the Dash (1-3-2), who had given up 14 goals in five games.
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