
Portland Thorns FC vs North Carolina Courage, 2024 NWSL, Regular Season
· NWSL1 - 0
Sophia Smith leads Portland Thorns past North Carolina Courage 1-0

Sophia Smith converted a penalty in the 79th minute as the Portland Thorns beat the North Carolina Courage 1-0 at Providence Park on Saturday.
Match Timeline
- 0': Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
- 0': First Half begins.
- 5': Attempt saved. Meredith Speck (North Carolina Courage) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ryan Williams.
- 7': Offside, North Carolina Courage. Bianca St-Georges is caught offside.
- 8': Corner, Portland Thorns. Conceded by Malia Berkely.
- 9': Attempt missed. Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns) header from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Sam Coffey with a cross following a corner.
- 9': Foul by Narumi Miura (North Carolina Courage).
- 9': Hina Sugita (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick on the left wing.
- 10': Attempt saved. Jessie Fleming (Portland Thorns) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Payton Linnehan.
- 13': Delay in match because of an injury Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns).
- 15': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
- 17': Ashley Sanchez (North Carolina Courage) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 17': Foul by Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns).
- 19': Delay in match because of an injury Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns).
- 21': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
- 22': Foul by Ryan Williams (North Carolina Courage).
- 22': Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 24': Foul by Hina Sugita (Portland Thorns).
- 24': Haley Hopkins (North Carolina Courage) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
- 25': Corner, North Carolina Courage. Conceded by Kelli Hubly.
- 26': Foul by Ryan Williams (North Carolina Courage).
- 26': Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 26': Ryan Williams (North Carolina Courage) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
- 28': Attempt blocked. Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Payton Linnehan.
- 29': Corner, North Carolina Courage. Conceded by Becky Sauerbrunn.
- 30': Foul by Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage).
- 30': Jessie Fleming (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick on the left wing.
- 31': Corner, Portland Thorns. Conceded by Denise O'Sullivan.
- 33': Corner, Portland Thorns. Conceded by Narumi Miura.
- 34': Attempt missed. Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Sam Coffey with a cross following a corner.
- 35': Attempt blocked. Meredith Speck (North Carolina Courage) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Denise O'Sullivan.
- 36': Substitution, Portland Thorns. Janine Beckie replaces Sam Coffey because of an injury.
- 37': Foul by Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage).
- 37': Payton Linnehan (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 38': Foul by Payton Linnehan (Portland Thorns).
- 38': Tyler Lussi (North Carolina Courage) wins a free kick on the left wing.
- 41': Foul by Nicole Payne (Portland Thorns).
- 41': Haley Hopkins (North Carolina Courage) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 42': Attempt blocked. Ashley Sanchez (North Carolina Courage) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Bianca St-Georges.
- 42': Ashley Sanchez (North Carolina Courage) wins a free kick on the right wing.
- 42': Foul by Marie Müller (Portland Thorns).
- 44': Offside, North Carolina Courage. Tyler Lussi is caught offside.
- 45': Attempt missed. Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
- 45'+3': Foul by Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage).
- 45'+3': Payton Linnehan (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 45'+3': Attempt saved. Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Olivia Moultrie.
- 45'+4': Attempt blocked. Marie Müller (Portland Thorns) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Sophia Smith.
- 45'+5': Foul by Payton Linnehan (Portland Thorns).
- 45'+5': Tyler Lussi (North Carolina Courage) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 45'+7': First Half ends, Portland Thorns 0, North Carolina Courage 0.
- 45': Second Half begins Portland Thorns 0, North Carolina Courage 0.
- 47': Foul by Ryan Williams (North Carolina Courage).
- 47': Payton Linnehan (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 49': Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 49': Foul by Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns).
- 52': Foul by Haley Hopkins (North Carolina Courage).
- 52': Nicole Payne (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 54': Attempt blocked. Tyler Lussi (North Carolina Courage) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Meredith Speck.
- 54': Corner, North Carolina Courage. Conceded by Nicole Payne.
- 54': Delay in match because of an injury Payton Linnehan (Portland Thorns).
- 55': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
- 56': Attempt blocked. Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Ashley Sanchez.
- 56': Corner, North Carolina Courage. Conceded by Marie Müller.
- 56': Attempt missed. Narumi Miura (North Carolina Courage) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right misses to the left following a corner.
- 57': Attempt missed. Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Payton Linnehan following a fast break.
- 58': Foul by Kaleigh Kurtz (North Carolina Courage).
- 58': Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick on the left wing.
- 59': Attempt blocked. Kelli Hubly (Portland Thorns) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
- 59': Foul by Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage).
- 59': Jessie Fleming (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick on the right wing.
- 61': Attempt saved. Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Payton Linnehan.
- 62': Offside, Portland Thorns. Payton Linnehan is caught offside.
- 64': Corner, Portland Thorns. Conceded by Kaleigh Kurtz.
- 65': Substitution, North Carolina Courage. Brianna Pinto replaces Meredith Speck.
- 66': Foul by Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage).
- 66': Janine Beckie (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
- 66': Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
- 67': Substitution, Portland Thorns. Reyna Reyes replaces Nicole Payne.
- 67': Substitution, Portland Thorns. Christine Sinclair replaces Payton Linnehan.
- 69': Foul by Brianna Pinto (North Carolina Courage).
- 69': Jessie Fleming (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick on the left wing.
- 70': Attempt blocked. Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Christine Sinclair.
- 71': Foul by Brianna Pinto (North Carolina Courage).
- 71': Jessie Fleming (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick on the right wing.
- 73': Attempt missed. Jessie Fleming (Portland Thorns) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Sophia Smith.
- 74': Corner, North Carolina Courage. Conceded by Reyna Reyes.
- 76': Penalty Portland Thorns. Hina Sugita draws a foul in the penalty area.
- 76': Penalty conceded by Ryan Williams (North Carolina Courage) after a foul in the penalty area.
- 76': VAR Decision: Penalty Portland Thorns.
- 78': Second yellow card to Ryan Williams (North Carolina Courage) for a bad foul.
- 79': Goal! Portland Thorns 1, North Carolina Courage 0. Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
- 81': Offside, Portland Thorns. Hina Sugita is caught offside.
- 81': Attempt blocked. Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Christine Sinclair.
- 81': Corner, Portland Thorns. Conceded by Kaleigh Kurtz.
- 82': Substitution, North Carolina Courage. Felicitas Rauch replaces Tyler Lussi.
- 82': Substitution, North Carolina Courage. Victoria Pickett replaces Ashley Sanchez.
- 82': Attempt missed. Janine Beckie (Portland Thorns) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Sophia Smith with a cross following a corner.
- 86': Delay in match because of an injury Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage).
- 88': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
- 89': Offside, Portland Thorns. Sophia Smith is caught offside.
- 89': Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) is shown the yellow card.
- 90': Corner, North Carolina Courage. Conceded by Marie Müller.
- 90': Victoria Pickett (North Carolina Courage) hits the right post with a header from the centre of the box. Assisted by Felicitas Rauch with a cross following a corner.
- 90': Corner, North Carolina Courage. Conceded by Marie Müller.
- 90'+4': Attempt saved. Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Hina Sugita.
- 90'+6': Foul by Bianca St-Georges (North Carolina Courage).
- 90'+6': Marie Müller (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick on the left wing.
- 90'+7': Substitution, Portland Thorns. Olivia Wade-Katoa replaces Jessie Fleming.
- 90'+7': Substitution, Portland Thorns. Izzy D'Aquila replaces Sophia Smith.
- 90'+11': Second yellow card to Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns).
- 90'+12': Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns) wins a free kick on the left wing.
- 90'+12': Foul by Narumi Miura (North Carolina Courage).
- 90'+12': Narumi Miura (North Carolina Courage) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
- 90'+13': Second Half ends, Portland Thorns 1, North Carolina Courage 0.
- 0': Match ends, Portland Thorns 1, North Carolina Courage 0.
Game Information
Venue: Providence Park
Location: Portland, Oregon, USA
Attendance: 21,025
NWSL Table
# | TEAM | GP | GD | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Angel City FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2 | Bay FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3 | Chicago Stars FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
4 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Line-Ups
Portland Thorns FC (4-2-3-1)
No. | Name |
---|---|
18 | Shelby Hogan (GK) |
4 | Becky Sauerbrunn |
20 | Kelli Hubly |
23 | Marie Müller |
11 | Nicole Payne |
21 | Jessie Fleming |
17 | Sam Coffey |
8 | Hina Sugita |
9 | Sophia Smith |
13 | Olivia Moultrie |
15 | Payton Linnehan |
North Carolina Courage (3-4-2-1)
No. | Name |
---|---|
1 | Casey Murphy (GK) |
3 | Kaleigh Kurtz |
7 | Malia Berkely |
13 | Ryan Williams ![]() |
10 | Denise O'Sullivan ![]() |
6 | Narumi Miura ![]() |
14 | Tyler Lussi |
23 | Bianca St-Georges |
5 | Haley Hopkins |
25 | Meredith Speck |
2 | Ashley Sanchez |
NWSL News

The return of Chelsea forward Catarina Macario highlights the 23-player United States women's national team roster selected by manager Emma Hayes for the 2025 SheBelieves Cup.

The Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League and the city's as-yet unnamed WNBA team will train together at a new performance center in a first-of-its-kind alliance between teams from both leagues.

The National Women's Soccer League will establish a $5 million fund for players as part of a settlement that stemmed from allegations of emotional and sexual misconduct that rocked the league in 2021.

Ali Krieger explains why the NWSL should be concerned about players moving to Europe.

Brazil international Tarciane has completed her transfer from Houston Dash to Lyon, the NWSL side confirmed on Sunday.