Angel City drew the Portland Thorns 3–3 tonight, following goals by forward Alyssa Thompson, midfielder Julie Ertz, and an own goal by Thorns defender Natalia Kuikka.
ACFC opened the scoring in the 10th minute when defender Paige Nielsen played a ball up the left wing to Thompson. Thompson chipped the ball over a defender and into her own path, then drove forward to the edge of the 18, cut the ball onto her right foot, and sent her diagonal shot skipping past keeper Bella Bixby.
The Thorns had a near miss in the 21st minute when midfielder Crystal Dunn sent a looping pass to the feet of forward Morgan Weaver, who sprinted into the box, cut inside, and fired off a shot that went just wide of the near post. Weaver came close again in the 28th minute when a corner kick initially landed in the penalty area at the feet of midfielder Rocky Rodriguez, whose shot was blocked by several ACFC defenders; the ball bounced around for a moment, before Weaver got a foot on it, sending her shot well over the bar from the edge of the six-yard box.
In the 32nd minute, the home team equalized on a penalty kick after midfielder Julie Ertz fouled Dunn in the box. Midfielder Hina Sugita stepped up to take the kick and slotted it into the bottom right-hand corner. Keeper DiDi Haračić dove the right direction, but couldn’t reach the well-placed shot in time.
The two teams traded near misses early in the second half, first in the 51st minute with Dunn getting her head on a cross forward Christine Sinclair played into the six-yard box but sending it just wide. In the 53rd minute, ACFC midfielder Savannah McCaskill switched the field with a long diagonal ball to forward Claire Emslie in the 18, who took a touch to settle the ball, then put a right-footed shot just wide of the far post.
In the 65th minute, the Thorns pulled ahead when midfielder Olivia Moultrie played a through ball to Weaver as she made a diagonal run into the six. Weaver muscled past defender Ali Riley and tapped the ball in with her right foot.
Angel City equalized in the 74th minute when Emslie sent a free kick from outside the right side of the 18 toward the far post. Forward Katie Johnson was crashing the box and nearly got her head on the ball, but ultimately it bounced off Thorns defender Natalia Kuikka and into the net for an own goal.
LA regained the lead in the 79th minute on another set piece, with midfielder Clarisse Le Bihan sending another free kick—this time from the left of the penalty area—to the near post, where Ertz headed it past Bixby.
Late in stoppage time, Portland equalized for a second time when a corner kick that Haračić initially caught was knocked from her hands and Bixby—who had come into the Angel City penalty area as the team pushed for a last-minute goal—tapped the ball into the net. It was the second goal by a keeper in NWSL history—the first one was also scored by a Thorns keeper, Michelle Betos, in 2015.
