Zions Bank Stadium, Herriman, UT – The Portland Thorns notch first win in the 2020 Challenge Cup against the up to now undefeated North Carolina Courage.
Portland had to push uphill as the take on the North Carolina Courage who have won all of their matches to this point in the tournament and Thorns still searching for their first win after settling for 3 draws so far. The Courage was tough through out the entire match leading in almost all statistics showing why they have not lost in the group stages
The biggest threat to the Thorns lead cam in the 80th minute by Britt Eckerstom of a right footed shot from Debhina but the Courage couldn’t find the net and ended up on the wrong end of the result this time.
Goals by Period 1 2 F
North Carolina Courage 0 0 0
Portland Thorns 0 1 1
Scoring Summary:
POR – Morgan Weaver – 68′
Misconduct Summary:
NCC – Debinha – 52′ unsporting behavior
NCC – Denise O’Sullivan – 90’+5′ unsporting behavior
Lineups:
North Carolina Courage: Katelyn Rowland; Addisyn Merrick (Hailie Mace, 77′); Jaelene Daniels; Abby Erceg; Abby Dahlkemper; Debora De Oliveira; Samantha Mewis; Denise O’Sullivan; Crystal Dunn; Lynn Williams; Kristen Hamilton (Jessica McDonald, 46′)
Substitutes Not Used: Lindsay Agnew; Hailey Harbison; Kaleigh Kurtz; Stephanie Labbe; McKenzie Meehabn; Lauren Milliet; Sinclaire Miramontez; Samantha Murphy; Cari Roccaro; Meredith Speck; Ryan Williams
Portland Thorns: Britt Eckerstom; Kelli Hubly; Meghan Klingenberg (Madison Pogarch, 82′); Emily Menges; Katherine Reynolds (Christen Wetphal, 42′); Raquel Rodriguez; Angela Salem; Lindsey Horan (Celeste Boureille, 51′); Christine Sinclair; Tyler Lussi (Simone Charley 51′); Morgan Weaver (Gabby Seiler, 82′)
Substitutes Not Used: Nadine Angerer; Marissa Everett; Meaghan Nally; Emily Ogle; Anika Rodriguez; Autumn Smithers
Next up for Utah Challenge Cup 2020
Monday July 17th at 8:00 PM Mountain time the Utah Royals hit the pitch again when they take on the Houston Dash.