Portland, OR (August 11, 2019)- Despite a strong first half, the North Carolina Courage fell to the Portland Thorns 2-1 on Sunday afternoon. The game was played in front of the largest crowd in NWSL history with 25,218 in attendance at Providence Park.

The North Carolina Courage struck early with a Crystal Dunn goal in the fourth minute. Kristen Hamilton played a ball into the box that was bobbled by the Portland defense and ended up at the feet of Lynn Williams. Williams tapped it back to Dunn who blasted it into the net from close range.

Dunn led the NWSL in goals before the FIFA Women’s World Cup, scoring four goals in three games to start the season. Dunn’s goal against the Thorns was her first goal since returning from the World Cup where she was a defender for the USWNT. The assist by Williams was her fifth of the season moving her into first place in assists in the NWSL this season.

The pressure from the Courage attack continued throughout the first half. In the 41stminute, Dunn had another crack at goal that forced Thorns goalkeeper Adrianna Franch to make a diving save. Despite the many efforts, the NC Courage went into halftime only up 1-0.

The Portland Thorns answered early into the second half with a goal in the 57thminute that was ruled an own goal. The Thorns extended a corner kick into many chances, eventually resulting in a goal.

More miscommunication in the 82nd led to the Thorns second goal of the night that was also ruled an own goal. The ball hit off of several Thorns and Courage players before ending up in the back of the net.

The Courage fell short in the final minutes with many saves by Portland’s Franch. The goalkeeper ended the night with ten saves on 20 shots from the Courage.

Up Next: The North Carolina Courage will host the second-ever Women’s International Champions Cup on August 15 and 18 at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. The team will then return to league play on Saturday, August 24 when they host Reign FC.

Notes:

• Lynn Williams had her fifth assist of the season. She leads the NWSL in assists in 2019.

• Dunn scored her fifth goal of the season and her first since the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

• The team played in front of 25,218 fans, the largest crowd in NWSL history.

• Abby Dahlkemper, Crystal Dunn, Jessica McDonald, and Sam Mewis will return to Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park for the first time since winning the World Cup on Thursday, August 15 when the Courage play Man City Women in the Women’s ICC.

Box:

POR (4-2-3-1): Adrianna Franch; Katherine Reynolds, Emily Menges, Emily Sonnett, Elizabeth Ball (Ellie Carpenter, 85’); Lindsey Horan, Dagny Brynjarsdottir; Tobin Heath, Christine Sinclair ©, Simone Charley (Midge Purce, 46’); Caitlin Foord (Hayley Raso, 46’)

Subs not used: Britt Eckerstrom, Andressinha, Meghan Klingenberg, Gabby Seiler

NCC (4-4-2): Stephanie Labbé; Jaelene Hinkle Abby Erceg ©, Abby Dahlkemper, Merritt Mathias; Debnha, Denise O’ Sullivan (Heather O’Reilly, 89’), Samantha Mewis (McCall Zerboni, 70’), Crystal Dunn; Lynn Williams (Jessica McDonald, 70’), Kristen Hamilton

Subs not used: Katelyn Rowland, Kaleigh Kurtz, Meredith Speck, Cari Roccaro

Score:
POR: 2
NCC: 1

Goals:
POR: OG (Stephanie Labbé, 57’), OG (Abby Erceg, 82’)
NCC: Crystal Dunn (Lynn Williams, 4’)

Cautions:
POR: Caitlin Foord 19’
NCC: —

Ejections:
POR: —
NCC: —

Attendance: 25,218