Bolstered by the return of several of their gold medal winners, Ella Stevens and Yazmeen Ryan scored goals to lead Gotham to a 2-0 home win against the Portland Thorns on Saturday in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Gotham struck early when Stevens flicked Bruninha’s cross behind her in the 7th minute, finishing into the far post.
Ryan sealed the victory in the 70th, unleashing a powerful strike from distance into the lower right corner.
Portland (8-6-3) struggled offensively without Sophia Smith and Sam Coffey, who recently won a gold medal with the U.S. women’s national team at the Paris Olympics. The Thorns finished with just three shots on goal.
Gotham (10-3-4) had five players on the gold medal squad. Rose Lavelle, Jenna Nighswonger, Emily Sonnett, and Tierna Davidson all played Saturday, while Lynn Williams was unavailable due to an injury.
ANGEL CITY 2, WAVE 1
Alyssa Thompson scored her first two career goals to give Angel City a 2-1 win at San Diego.
In the 20th minute, Meggie Dougherty-Howard’s pass deflected off a Wave defender and slipped in behind for Thompson. The forward cut around onrushing goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan and finished into an open net to put Angel City (5-9-3) ahead.
Nine minutes later, Thompson dribbled into the box from the halfway mark and beat Sheridan into the left corner to double the lead. Thompson became the second teenager to score twice in an NWSL match.
Abby Dahlkemper scored a consolation goal for the Wave just before the final whistle, heading in a free kick.
The Wave (3-8-6) have lost three straight after firing coach Casey Stoney following a seven-game winless streak. Saturday’s match against Angel City marked former U.S. men’s national team player Landon Donovan’s first game as the Wave’s interim coach.
LOUISVILLE 3, RED STARS 1
Racing Louisville jumped into a playoff spot with a 3-1 home win against Chicago.
Uchenne Kanu got things started for Louisville in the 12th minute. Bethany Balcer, who joined Louisville earlier this week via a trade that sent Jaelin Howell to Seattle, cut the ball across the goal for an unmarked Kanu to tap in.
Chicago rookie Jameese Joseph dribbled into the box in the 59th minute and finished into the upper right corner to tie it.
Kayla Fischer subbed into the match in the 56th minute and made an immediate impact for Louisville (4-6-7). Five minutes after entering, Fischer assisted Marissa DiGrande’s goal before dribbling around goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and scoring into an open net in the 77th minute.
Louisville moved into eighth place, the final playoff position, with nine matches remaining in the regular season. The Red Stars (7-8-2) sit right above them in seventh place.
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