Brianna Pinto scored in the second minute of second-half stoppage time, lifting the North Carolina Courage to a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Courage on Sunday in Cary, N.C.
Pinto brought down a pass at the left edge of the 18-yard box, spun past two defenders and fired a shot into the far top corner of the net.
Pinto’s only other goal this season came on March 30.
Cortnee Vine scored her first NWSL goal and Casey Murphy made a late-game save for the Courage (9-8-1, 28 points).
Vine produced her goal shortly before a lengthy weather-related delay. She made a move from the left side of the box to move into position for a good angle closer to the middle and converted in the 67th minute off Haley Hopkins’ assist.
Kansas City (10-3-5, 35 points) tied the match in the 62nd minute on Temwa Chawinga’s goal.
Angel City FC 2, Red Stars 1
Sydney Leroux’s goal in second-half stoppage time provided the difference as Angel City defeated Chicago in Los Angeles, winning two games in a row for the first time since April.
Seconds after the clock hit 90 minutes, M.A. Vignola raced down to the left flank to latch onto a long through ball. She then fired a centering pass to Leroux, who had raced down the middle of the pitch and knocked the ball into the net while tumbling.
The tally was Leroux’s fifth goal of the season for Angel City (6-9-3, 21 points) and the 46th of her NWSL career. The hosts had a strong start, getting a goal from Alyssa Thompson in the sixth minute.
Bea Franklin scored in the 10th minute of first-half stoppage time for the Red Stars (7-9-2, 23 points), who have lost two straight matches following a two-match win streak. The tying goal was set up by Natalia Kuikka’s delivery, with Franklin cutting toward the ball in time to redirect it.
Chicago goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher made five saves.
Pride 2, Gotham 0
Adriana scored twice in the first 19 minutes and the undefeated Pride were on the way to another victory, defeating the defending NWSL champion New Jersey/New York in Orlando.
Adriana has five goals this season, with a pair of braces in the past four matches. Julie Doyle added the Pride’s third goal deep in second-half stoppage time.
The Pride (13-0-5, 44 points) had scored only one goal in their first match back from the break in the schedule, but Adriana made sure the production wouldn’t lag for long. Teammate Anna Moorhouse made two saves for the clean sheet.
Kylie Strom, Summer Yates and Marta were credited with assists as Orlando won its fifth match in a row.
Gotham (10-4-4, 34 points) had a three-match unbeaten string halted. The team never got a shot on goal in the first half and ended up a shutout victim for just the second time since April.
The start of the match was delayed for about 90 minutes because of storms.
Spirit 1, Wave 1
Kristen McNabb provided host San Diego all of the scoring, but unfortunately for her, one of those goals went into the wrong net as Washington emerged with a draw.
After a first-half own goal, McNabb pulled San Diego even in the 68th minute. Maria Sanchez’s delivery off a corner kick helped set up McNabb for the equalizer.
San Diego (3-8-7, 16 points) ended a three-match losing streak, but the Wave still haven’t won since May 8.
Washington (12-4-2, 38 points) benefitted from the own goal by McNabb in the 30th minute, with the Wave’s Kennedy Wesley knocking the ball off her teammate for an unintended sequence.
The Spirit have picked up at least one point in three consecutive matches, though their offense dried up after matching a season-high total of four goals a week earlier vs. Kansas City.
–Field Level Media
