Tyler Lussi came off the bench and scored to give the North Carolina Courage a 1-0 victory at home against Racing Louisville on Saturday in the National Women’s Soccer League.
It was North Carolina’s third straight win and third straight shutout.
Louisville was in control for most of the first half, outshooting the Courage 8-2, but the teams went into halftime scoreless.
The momentum would turn in the second half, and Lussi broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute, getting her initial opportunity blocked but slamming the rebound into the net.
The Courage (7-4-2) continued to threaten for the last 10 minutes, and Racing defender Abby Erceg had to make a sliding block in the 83rd to prevent a second goal.
Louisville (3-4-6) only had two shots in the second half.
Saturday’s game was the last club match for players on both teams who are heading to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which kicks off July 20.
For the Courage, Emily Fox and Casey Murphy were called up by the United States, while Kerolin (Brazil), Mille Gejl and Rikke Madsen (Denmark), and Denise O’Sullivan (Republic of Ireland) were also expected to be named to their national team rosters.
Louisville expects to have six players representing six different countries in the tournament: Ary Borges (Brazil), Alex Chidiac (Australia), Savannah DeMelo (U.S.), Uchenna Kanu (Nigeria), Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa), and Wang Shuang (China).
KANSAS CITY CURRENT 2, ORLANDO PRIDE 1
Debinha and Cece Kizer scored in the first half to give the Kansas City Current a victory over the Pride in Orlando.
The first goal came in the 29th minute when Vanessa DiBernardo stole the ball high up the field and quickly found Brazilian Debinha, who caught goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse off her line for her sixth goal of the season.
Kizer snuck in a second goal to close out the first half, collecting DiBernardo’s pass into the box and stretching to poke the ball into the left corner from close range.
Marta got one back for Orlando in the 59th, chipping a penalty kick up the middle as goalkeeper Cassie Miller dove to her right.
The Pride (4-8-1) pushed for an equalizer, outshooting Kansas City 14-9, but Miller had five saves to earn the win for the Current (4-9-0).
For Orlando, Adriana and Marta are expected to be named to Brazil’s final World Cup roster. They’ll likely be joined by the Current’s Debinha. Kansas City midfielder Desiree Scott, who hasn’t played this season due to a knee injury, was named to Canada’s provisional roster.
Current defender Hailie Mace left the match in the 3rd minute with an apparent shoulder injury.
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