Portland Thorns VS NC Courage, June 26, 2021 Photo Gallery

Check out our gameday photos for the Portland Thorns VS NC Courage from June 26, 2021

The Saturday evening home match against Portland on June 26, 2021 match was the first of the season against the Oregon state-based Portland Thorns. It was additionally a celebration of Pride at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park with the team wearing special pride warmups and multi-colored jersey numbers.

In her penultimate match before heading out for 2021 Olympic duty, forward Lynn Williams scored a brace, putting her into the lead for goals scored in the NWSL for the 2021 season with five goals. Four of those goals being in these past two matches. Her pair of goals ended up ultimately being the final score, besting the Thorns 2-0. It also gave starting Courage goalkeeper, Casey Murphy her third clean sheet of the season. Murphy had four saves in the match.

Both of Williams’ goals were assisted by outside back Carson Pickett, becoming the league leader in assists this season.

Head coach Paul Riley said the last full week of June had been fantastic for the Courage, with the NWSL squad accumulating the full available nine points with its three matches.

“Our confidence is high, and with congestion like this it’s just about finding balance so we can get as much of our players as possible.”

What’s Next for the Courage?

The Saturday night game represented the last for Sam Mewis until 2021 Olympic duties complete. In subsequent games, the team will also lose Williams, Abby Erceg, and Debhina as well for Olympic duties.

The Courage and Thorns will not meet again until Sunday, September 12, 2021. When they do, the teams will again meet at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. The Courage will be on the road for their next two matches. The next match will be in Orlando versus the Pride on July 4, followed by a July 10 match at the Washington Spirit.

All photos by Gregory Ng @FollowGregSports

Check out all of our North Carolina Courage photo galleries.