Courage and Thorns Trade Four First-Half Goals in Wild 2-2 Draw in Cary

For 25 minutes on Saturday night in Cary, the North Carolina Courage and the Portland Thorns played like two teams that had collectively agreed defending was optional. Portland scored. North Carolina answered. Portland scored again. North Carolina answered again. Then everybody seemed to remember the rules, and nobody scored for the rest of the night.

The result was a 2-2 draw at WakeMed Soccer Park in front of 7,018 fans. Reilyn Turner and Olivia Moultrie each put the Thorns in front, and Manaka Matsukubo and Ashley Sanchez each dragged the Courage level, all four goals arriving between the 12th and 37th minutes. Two teams, 28 combined shots, one point apiece, and a second half that never delivered the sequel the first half promised.

Twenty-Five Minutes of Pure Chaos

Portland struck first off a set piece that refused to die. Turner had already headed a Moultrie delivery wide in the ninth minute, and three minutes later she got another look. Jayden Perry swung a cross into the middle of the box, and Turner's header found the bottom right corner for a 1-0 lead.

The goal came with a cost. Play was stopped for Turner right after she scored, stopped again for her in the 23rd minute, and in the 25th minute Mimi Alidou replaced her because of an injury. Portland lost its opening goalscorer before the half was even half over.

North Carolina wasted no time making that sting. In the 28th minute, Carly Wickenheiser lofted a pass toward Matsukubo, who brought it down, carried it into the left side of the box and slid a right-footed finish into the far corner. It was the first assist of Wickenheiser's Courage tenure, per the club.

The Thorns needed five minutes to get the lead back. Moultrie found a pocket in the box and had her first attempt saved by Kailen Sheridan, but the rebound came straight back to her and she buried it with her left foot from point-blank range. 2-1 Portland.

That lead lasted four minutes. Ryan Williams delivered the ball into the middle, and Sanchez hammered a right-footed shot from the center of the box into the top right corner. The club said it was her third goal of the season. In first-half stoppage time, Mackenzie Arnold went at full extension to keep a Shinomi Koyama blast from distance out of the top corner and preserve the 2-2.

The Sequel Never Came

The second half had chances. It just had no finishing. Portland brought on Marie Müller for M.A. Vignola at the break, and Sophia Wilson came out firing, sending two efforts high in the 49th and 50th minutes and having another blocked in the 54th. Moultrie tried her luck from outside the box in the same minute and found Sheridan's gloves.

North Carolina pushed back through Matsukubo, whose left-footed shot from range in the 59th minute was saved, and Sanchez, whose angled attempt in the 63rd minute forced Arnold into a low save. The best chance of the half came in the 76th minute, when Sanchez crossed to Dani Weatherholt inside the six-yard box and Arnold stopped her from point-blank range. Play then stopped for about three minutes while Arnold received treatment, and she stayed in the game.

The finish was frantic. Ally Schlegel headed just wide in the 84th minute, Sanchez dragged a shot narrowly right in the 87th, and Sheridan stopped a Wilson effort aimed high in the 89th. In stoppage time, Deyna Castellanos sailed one high off a corner for Portland, and Payton Linnehan pulled a fast-break shot wide for North Carolina. Neither side blinked.

Matsukubo Keeps Her Streak Alive

Matsukubo was the most interesting player on the field. Her goal was her fourth straight appearance with a goal, according to the Courage, who added that she is the first player in NWSL history with multiple three-game scoring streaks before turning 22. She is collecting scoring streaks like trading cards.

Sanchez led North Carolina with four shots, three of them on target, and she also supplied the cross that created Weatherholt's late chance.

For Portland, Moultrie was the engine. She led the match with five shots, put three on target and scored for the second straight game. Per the Thorns, she and Turner are now tied for the team lead with three goals apiece, and Perry's assist on Turner's goal was the third of her career, all three of them landing on Turner. That is less a partnership than a standing reservation.

Arnold made five saves, and the ones on Koyama, Sanchez and Weatherholt were the kind that change a result. Sheridan made four of her own, including the stop on Wilson late.

The Four Minutes That Decided It

The night tipped toward a draw in the 37th minute. Portland had just regained the lead and needed one composed stretch to carry it into the locker room. Instead the Courage answered four minutes later, and that reshaped everything after it.

North Carolina finished with 60 percent of the ball and completed 422 passes to Portland's 249. The Thorns out-shot the hosts 16 to 12 anyway. Portland played direct and hunted chances, and the Courage kept the ball and waited. Neither approach broke the other down after halftime.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: North Carolina 60 percent, Portland 40 percent.
• Shots: Portland 16, North Carolina 12, but the Courage put 7 on target to the Thorns' 6.
• Saves: Arnold 5, Sheridan 4.
• Passing: North Carolina attempted 500 passes to Portland's 324.
• Corners: North Carolina 7, Portland 4.

What It Means

Portland moves to 3-1-1 with 10 points, and the Thorns said this was their first tie of the year, with the international break up next. Per the club, Portland has not lost in its last four meetings with the Courage, going back to June 2024, and this was the third straight draw between the two. The Thorns return on April 26 at Angel City FC.

North Carolina sits at 1-2-1 with five points and is winless in three straight since its opening win over Racing Louisville, with a scoreless draw at Gotham FC, a 3-1 home loss to Bay FC and now this. The Courage next visit the Houston Dash on April 25.

Closing Take

This game was a blockbuster that spent its entire budget in the first act. Four goals in 25 minutes, an injury, a rebound finish and a top-corner rocket, followed by a long, tense stretch where everyone kept reaching for the twist and never found it. Portland leaves with its unbeaten run against the Courage intact. North Carolina leaves with Matsukubo writing history one goal at a time. Fair enough, honestly.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional match details from NCCourage.com and Thorns.com; neither club's recap carried postgame quotes.