CARY, N.C. (April 13, 2024) — The North Carolina Courage earned their second consecutive clean sheet with a 2-0 win over the Portland Thorns Saturday night in front of 5,711 fans at WakeMed Soccer Park. The Courage are now on nine points through four matches for their best start to a regular season since 2018.
Tyler Lussi led the Courage attack with a goal and an assist, contributing on both goals in the win over her former team. The Courage got on the board in the 5’ when Ashley Sanchez whipped a low cross in on a corner insert, which Lussi one-timed home for the early lead. The assist for Sanchez marked a third straight match with a goal contribution.
Lussi would turn provider a half-hour later, serving a cross from her right wing to the back post, set perfectly for Haley Hopkins to head in to double the advantage. It was the second goal of Hopkins’ sophomore season and first two goal contributions of the year for Lussi.
The Courage passed with 86% accuracy on 577 attempts and held over 56% of possession. The defense held strong against a formidable Thorns attack, blocking five shots and holding the talented front line to four shots on target, all of which were saved by Casey Murphy. Kaleigh Kurtz had seven clears and had 102 touches while Ryan Williams had four interceptions and 12 final third entries to combine with Lussi to create a dangerous right side of play all night for North Carolina.
Match Notes:
- The Courage earned their milestone 100th win across all NWSL contests in club history.
- Sanchez became the first Courage player with a goal contribution in three straight matches since Tess Boade in September of 2022.
- The Courage earned their second win of the season (2-0-0) when being out-shot by their opponent. They were 2W-3D-6L when being out-shot in 2023.
Up Next:
The Courage will hit the road for the second time this season, heading out West to take on Angel City FC on Sunday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. ET at BMO Stadium. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Box Score
NCC (4-2-3-1): Casey Murphy; Feli Rauch, Kaleigh Kurtz, Malia Berkely, Ryan Williams; Denise O’Sullivan ©, Narumi Miura (Dani Weatherholt—87’), Ashley Sanchez (Brianna Pinto—87’ ), Haley Hopkins (Bianca St-Georges—78’), Tyler Lussi; Manaka Matsukubo (Riley Jackson – 90+2’).
Subs Not Used: Marisa Bova, Jenna Winebrenner, Landy Mertz, Maya McCutcheon, Victoria Pickett.
POR (4-3-3): Shelby Hogan; Marie Müller, Becky Sauerbrunn ©, Isabella Obaze (Kelli Hubly—59’), Reyna Reyes; Sam Coffey, Hina Sugita (Ana Dias – 88’), Olivia Moultire (Christine Sinclair—73’); Morgan Weaver, Janine Beckie (Jessie Fleming—59’), Sophia Smith.
Subs Not Used: Nicole Payne, Izzy D’Aquila, Meghan Klingenberg, Lauren Kozal, Olivia Wade-Katoa.
Score:
NCC: 2
POR: 0
Goals:
NCC: – T. Lussi (A. Sanchez) —5’, H. Hopkins (T. Lussi) —36’
POR: –
Cautions:
NCC: –
POR: – H. Suginta—71’, K. Hubly—81’
Ejections:
NCC: —
POR: —
Attendance: 5,711
