PORTLAND, Ore. (March 29, 2025) — The North Carolina Courage played the Portland Thorns to a scoreless draw Saturday night at Providence Park. The Courage are now 0-1-2 on the season with two points from three matches and return to action in two weeks to visit Gotham FC.

The back-and-forth affair saw both teams post plenty of chances. Portland held a 19-14 edge in shots while North Carolina had a 5-2 advantage in shots on target.

The Courage had the best chance of the night when VAR intervened to give North Carolina a penalty for a foul on Ashley Sanchez in the 73' but the ensuing spot kick was saved to deny the Courage a chance at three points.

Casey Murphy made two brilliant saves and the back line put their bodies on the line several times down the stretch to help North Carolina earn their first clean sheet of the season.

Match Notes:

• Natalia Staude made her club and NWSL debut with the start. Staude was selected in the second round of the 2024 NWSL Draft out of Virginia and was on loan with Tampa Bay Sun FC of the USL Super League in 2024.
• Rookie Brooklyn Courtnall made her professional debut as a substitute.