Westfield Matilda Hayley Raso opened the scoring and a dramatic late finish followed as Portland Thorns struck a stoppage time winner to sink Orlando Pride 4-3.
Alanna Kennedy and Emily van Egmond’s Pride had fought back from 3-1 down to pull level as the clock ticked past 90 but Tyler Lussi’s strike four minutes into added time proved decisive for Raso, Ellie Carpenter and Caitlin Foord’s side.
Feature image courtesey of Portland Thorns on Twitter
Raso got the ball rolling at Providence Park after just three minutes when she charged down goalkeeper Haley Kopmeyer’s kick to score into an empty net. Then the match exploded with four goals in 10 breathtaking second-half minutes.
Margaret Purce extended Thorns’ lead on 58 minutes and, after Brazil great Martha hit back on 61 minutes, Foord made an appearance from the bench and legendary Canada striker Christine Sinclair restored Portland’s two-goal cushion on 66 minutes.
An own goal from Emily Menges on 68 minutes gave Pride hope and the away side hung in the game until Erin Greening finally fired them level in the 90th minute.
With two National Women’s Soccer League points seemingly dropped, one last Portland corner was met by Lussi’s bullet header to clinch a fairytale finish for the side from the City of Roses.
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After scoring her first NWSL goal of the season, Raso praised the Thorns' fighting spirit.
“It was crazy,” Raso said. “Every time we went up, they got one back. It was such a good attitude by our team and props to Tyler for that goal at the end to get the win.”
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