Claire Emslie recorded a brace as Angel City defeated the North Carolina Courage 2-1 on Sunday night at Los Angeles.
Angel City (2-2-1, seven points) have won back-to-back matches, while North Carolina saw a two-match winning streak come to an end.
Angel City FC goalkeeper DiDi Haracic made two saves, and the hosts survived 11 minutes of second-half stoppage time to hang on for the victory.
Tyler Lussi tallied a goal in the 73rd minute for North Carolina.
The Courage (3-2-0, nine points), who hadn’t allowed a goal in their past two matches, fell to 0-2-0 in road outings. The team had been off to its best four-match start to a season since 2018.
Emslie scored off a free kick in the 23rd minute, with a left-footed shot from the top of the box sailing over the wall formed by the Courage. It marked Emslie’s second goal of the season.
The goal came immediately after North Carolina’s Kaleigh Kurtz was assessed a yellow card for a bad foul.
Emslie’s third goal of the year came in the 54th minute off an assist from Alyssa Thompson, who made the pass from the midfield stripe. Emslie tracked down the ball and popped a shot over North Carolina goalkeeper Casey Murphy.
Lussi got the Courage on the board following a set piece, with teammate Ryan Williams sending the ball toward the front of the net. It was Lussi’s second goal of the season.
–Field Level Media
