Portland and Angel City Draw 1-1 in Week 2 of NWSL Season
- Best of Se7en Co
- Mar 21
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 24
Angel City FC Interim Head Coach Sam Laity has a history of holding the Portland Thorns on their home turf, and Friday night was no exception. Laity’s teams have historically gone 6-6-6 at Providence Park, and the trend continued as Angel City and Portland battled to a 1-1 draw on a cold night in the Rose City.
Angel City wasted no time going on the attack. In the 9th minute, Gisele Thompson found Kennedy Fuller who turned away from her defender before firing a low shot toward goal. The ball dribbled past Portland goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, giving LA an early 1-0 lead. It was Fuller’s second career NWSL regular season goal.
Portland pushed for an equalizer and finally seemed to find a breakthrough. Forward Reilyn Turner sliced through Angel City’s defense and aimed for goal, she was denied by a heroic save from goalkeeper Angelina Anderson. However, the Thorns didn’t waste their second opportunity. On the ensuing corner kick, the ball skipped past multiple defenders before landing at Turner’s feet. This time, she cashed in on her opportunity, hitting the ball into the net to bring Portland level at 1-1.
The match remained a back-and-forth battle, with both sides generating chances in a frenetic final 20 minutes. Despite the chaos, neither team could find a breakthrough.
“It was chaos. NWSL After Dark is back, baby,” Anderson said postgame. “That’s the nature and the fun of this league too, is they’re gonna have games like that. Like I alluded to earlier, it’s a hard place to play. You saw at the end, both teams wanted to win.”
With the draw, Angel City shifts its focus to next Sunday’s home clash against Seattle, where they’ll look for their first win of the season. Portland, also still searching for its first victory, will host the NC Courage next weekend.