Gotham come from two goals behind to draw 3-3 with North Carolina Courage in NWSL
Midge Purce's goal in the 82nd minute pulled Gotham into a 3-3 comeback draw against the North Carolina Courage on Saturday in the National Women's Soccer League.
Kerolin had a goal and two assists for the Courage, playing in front of a home crowd in Cary. Rookie Haley Hopkins added a goal and an assist.
In the 19th minute, Kerolin got the ball wide, dribbled into the box and dropped it to Narumi Miura, who buried her shot into the lower left corner with her first touch.
Kerolin doubled the lead just before halftime. It started with a give-and-go pass to teammate Hopkins. The return found Kerolin in the box, who slid her shot into the right corner.
Gotham brought it within one goal in the 64th when rookie Jenna Nighswonger finished a penalty after a foul in the box.
Hopkins responded for the Courage three minutes later, running onto a pass in the box from Kerolin and shooting into the far-post corner. Kerolin now has five goals and three assists in her last five matches.
Maitane López Millán brought it to 3-2 in the 73rd, collecting a loose ball after a cross and slipping her shot into the left corner.
Purce equalized for Gotham in the 82nd, sliding to poke a loose ball in the box into the goal.
Women's World Cup champion Esther Gonzalez of Spain earned her first minutes for Gotham after joining the club.
The draw kept both teams in the playoff race with four matches remaining. The Courage (8-6-4) sits in second, while Gotham (7-5-6) is fourth.
LOUISVILLE 2, THORNS 1
Thembi Kgatlana scored in the 64th minute to help Racing Louisville earn a comeback win over the Portland Thorns at Lynn Family Stadium in Kentucky.
Louisville put the Thorns under a lot of pressure at the start of the match, creating six shots in five minutes — with one going off the post and another off the crossbar.
However, Portland got on the board first, scoring in their first attempt. In the sixth minute, Morgan Weaver rushed to block goalkeeper Katie Lund's clearance after receiving a slow back pass. The ball fell to Weaver, who took a dribble and shot into an open net.
An opportunity for Louisville to equalize was cleared right in front of the goal just before halftime, and the home team finished with 18 shots and no goal to close out the first half.
Abby Erceg scored in the 60th, heading in Wang Shuang's corner kick — with a slight deflection from Portland's Hina Sugita.
Kgatlana brought Louisville ahead in the 64th, collecting a clearance at the top of the box and finishing into the left corner with her eighth shot of the match.
Racing finished with 26 shots, and Bella Bixby made eight saves for Portland to keep the game close.
Despite the loss, Portland (8-5-5) stayed at the top of a tight NWSL table. Racing (5-4-9) moved into sixth, the final playoff spot, with the win.
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