Manaka Matsukubo's Late Winner Sends North Carolina Courage Past Angel City 2-1 for a Third Straight Win

Four players, one dagger. In the 79th minute at BMO Stadium, Evelyn Ijeh flicked on a header, Ashley Sanchez carried the ball at Angel City's back line, Riley Jackson slid a pass in behind, and Manaka Matsukubo finished low into the bottom left corner with her left foot.

That goal gave the North Carolina Courage a 2-1 win over Angel City FC on Sunday in front of 16,057 fans, the Courage's third straight victory and their last match before the league's June break. Ijeh scored the opener for her third goal in as many matches, according to the club, and North Carolina left Los Angeles with three points despite being outshot 17 to 10.

Angel City's Half, Nobody's Goal

The first 45 minutes belonged to the hosts on volume and to nobody on the scoreboard. Uno Shiragaki was booked in the third minute for a foul on Maiara Niehues, and Angel City did most of the attacking from there. Kennedy Fuller and Gisele Thompson had shots blocked, Jun Endo headed an Emily Sams cross high and wide in the 28th minute, and Fuller forced Kailen Sheridan into a save from a tight angle on the right in the 34th.

Angel City's pressure peaked just before the break. Sams and Endo had back-to-back shots blocked in the 44th minute, and Sams sent a header from a corner just wide a minute later. By ESPN's play-by-play, Angel City had eight attempts in the half to North Carolina's three, but Sheridan only had to make one save.

The Courage barely threatened. Matsukubo had a shot blocked and Jackson fired high and wide in the 25th minute, and Ally Schlegel headed over from a corner in the 31st.

Three Minutes, Two Goals

The second half woke up immediately. In the 48th minute Sanchez stripped the ball near midfield, skipped past a defender and laid it off to Matsukubo, whose pass sent Ijeh clean through on Angelina Anderson. Ijeh's left-footed finish went into the bottom right corner.

Angel City answered three minutes later. Evelyn Shores whipped in a cross and Niehues rose in the center of the box to head it into the bottom right corner. Just like that, the game was level and the hosts were back in it.

From there the match turned into a back-and-forth brawl of half-chances. Anderson saved from Sanchez in the 58th minute, Ijeh headed a corner just wide in the same minute, and Fuller pulled a shot narrowly wide at the other end in the 60th. Angel City head coach Alex Straus went to the bench, bringing on Prisca Chilufya, Taylor Suarez and Claire Emslie.

The Turning Point: Matsukubo Finishes What She Started

Matsukubo had already set up the first goal. In the 79th minute she finished the second, and it was a move worth replaying. Ijeh's flick released Sanchez, Sanchez found Jackson at the top of the box, and Jackson's pass put Matsukubo through. It was North Carolina's cleanest sequence of the afternoon, and it arrived just one minute after Emslie had a shot blocked at the other end.

Angel City threw everything forward late. Chilufya's close-range header was saved by Sheridan in the 89th minute, Niehues headed wide and Suarez had a shot from the left side of the six-yard box blocked in stoppage time, and Karsyn Cherry steered a header just wide. In the final minute of stoppage time, Shores headed an Emslie cross on target, and Sheridan saved it in the top right corner.

North Carolina finished without two of its key contributors. Matsukubo went off injured in the 88th minute, and Jackson followed in stoppage time.

"In all of these games, we do enough to win, and that's the frustrating part," Straus said. "We created some big chances at the end, and we should have scored."

Star Turns

Manaka Matsukubo had a goal and an assist on two shots, and both North Carolina goals ran through her.

Evelyn Ijeh scored her third goal in three matches and helped start the winner with a flick-on header.

Riley Jackson had the assist on the winner and three shots of her own before leaving late.

Kailen Sheridan made three saves, two of them in the final minutes, and those two were the difference between a win and a draw.

Maiara Niehues scored Angel City's goal and kept pushing until the end, with another header in stoppage time.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Angel City 17, North Carolina 10.
• Shots on target: Angel City 5, North Carolina 4.
• Blocked shots: North Carolina blocked seven Angel City attempts.
• Clearances: the Courage made 37 to Angel City's 15.
• Crosses: Angel City attempted 24 and completed 12.

What It Means

North Carolina moved to 5-3-3 with 18 points and rolled into the break on a three-game winning streak, after a 4-0 home win over the Chicago Stars and a 2-1 win at Racing Louisville FC. The Courage return on July 4 at home against the Seattle Reign.

Angel City fell to 4-1-6 with 13 points and has lost two straight, after a 2-1 defeat at the Houston Dash. The club opened the season with three straight wins but has won just once in eight matches since, with a draw and six losses. Four of those defeats came at BMO Stadium. Angel City returns on July 3 at home against the Orlando Pride.

Captain Sarah Gorden did not hide from it. "We wanted nothing more than to end with a home win," she said. "We need to go back to the drawing board and figure it out because we need to put our chances away and do a better job of keeping the ball out of our net."

The Closing Take

Angel City built the house and North Carolina moved in. The hosts had more of the ball, more shots and more crosses, and still spent the final whistle staring at the scoreboard. The Courage needed only a handful of clean moves to win it, which is the soccer version of acing the test without doing the homework. A month off will feel very different in North Carolina than it does in Los Angeles.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and club notes as reported by Angel City FC and the North Carolina Courage.