Portland, Ore. (Aug. 20, 2023) — The North Carolina Courage fell to the Portland Thorns, 2-1, Sunday night at Providence Park. The Courage took the early lead and had a player advantage for more than 70 minutes, but could not avoid a second straight defeat in league play. The Courage are now in second place in the NWSL standings with 26 points (8-6-2).

The Courage weathered the storm through the first 20 minutes before rocking the boat. Victoria Pickett stole the ball at the edge of the attacking third and forced Kelli Hubly to foul her at the very edge of the 18. A VAR review prompted a red card for Hubly and the ensuing free kick from Tyler Lussi was delivered perfectly off the underside of the crossbar into the net. The goal wasn’t initially given, but a quick VAR review corrected the call to give the Courage the lead. Portland got the goal back late in the half, against the run of play, when a nifty touch by Hannah Betfort split the center backs and she finished far-corner netting to equalize. The match would hit the half with a 1-1 scoreline. Sophia Smith returned to action for the first time in nearly two months and made an instant impact, scoring less than a minute after entering the match for what would prove to be the match-winner.

Match Notes

• Tyler Lussi scored her fifth goal of the NWSL season. It was the first time the goal was not a game-winner. It was also the first-ever goal scored by Lussi in a match her team did not win

• The Courage have dropped consecutive league matches for the first time since weeks 2-4

• The Courage have lost two straight when scoring first. They had previously been unbeaten when scoring the opening goal

Next Match: The North Carolina Courage return home to host the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday, August 27, for a 2:00 p.m. ET kickoff at WakeMed Soccer Park. The match will stream live nationally in the United States on Paramount+ and internationally on www.nwslsoccer.com.

Box Score:

NCC (4-3-3): Casey Murphy, Kiki Pickett, Malia Berkely, Kaleigh Kurtz, Ryan Williams, Denise O’Sullivan (Frankie Tagliaferri – 83’), Narumi, Brittany Ratcliffe, Victoria Pickett (Brianna Pinto – 60’), Tyler Lussi (Haley Hopkins – 70’), Tess Boade (Olivia Wingate – 46’)

Subs Not Used: Katelyn Rowland, Sydney Collins, Sarah Clark, Haleigh Stackpole, Estelle Johnson

POR (4-3-3): Bella Bixby, Natalia Kuikka (Reyna Reyes – 85’), Kelli Hubly (red card – 17’), Emily Menges, Meghan Klingenberg, Olivia Moultrie, Rocky Rodríguez (Taylor Porter – 68’), Sam Coffey, Hannah Betfort (Sophia Smith – 68’), Christine Sinclair (Meaghan Nally – 22’), Morgan Weaver (Izzy D’Aquila – 85’)

Subs Not Used: Shelby Hogan, Michele Vasconcelos, Tegan McGrady, Gabby Provenzano

Score:

NCC: 1

POR: 2

Goals:

NCC: T. Lussi – 19’

POR: H. Betfort – 41’ (Moultre), S. Smith – 69’

Cautions:

NCC:

POR:

Ejections:

NCC: –

POR: K. Hubly – 17’