Mallie McKenzie knocked the ball into her own net in stoppage time while trying to defend a corner kick and the Orlando Pride defeated the Portland Thorns 1-0 on Friday night in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Elsewhere in the NWSL, the Seattle Reign were held to a 1-1 tie by Bay FC; and Racing Louisville tied the Chicago Stars 1-1.
In the dying moments of the match in Orlando, McKenzie struggled to defend Marta’s corner and the ball eventually nestled into the goal.
Marta came into the match in the 68th minute to replace Ally Lemos. She was returning from a back injury that had caused her to miss two matches.
The win snapped a five-game winless streak at home for the Pride (10-8-6), who moved to third in the standings. The Thorns (9-8-7) slipped to fifth.
The Pride narrowly outshot the Thorns 16-14 and both teams generated four shots on target.
Balcer rescues a point for Racing against Stars
Bethany Balcer came off the bench to score the equalizer in the third minute of stoppage time and give Racing Louisville a 1-1 draw with the visiting Stars.
The tie at Lynn Family Stadium shored up a playoff position for Louisville (9-9-6), which sits seventh in the standings and has a five-point cushion above the cut-off line.
The last-place Stars (2-11-11) equaled the NWSL record for ties in a season.
Janine Sonis dinked a pass into the box and Balcer scored with a first-time shot. Balcer entered the match in the 81st minute, replacing Kayla Fischer. It was her first goal of the season.
Jameese Joseph gave the Stars a 1-0 lead in the 85th minute, slotting the ball in off the post after her run into the box was picked out by Ivonne Chacón.
Racing Louisville outshot the Stars 24-16 but struggled to get one past Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who finished with eight saves.
Her best save of the night came on a close range shot from Katie O’Kane in the 52nd minute.
Fishlock scores late equalizer for the Reign
Jess Fishlock scored an 84th minute equalizer to pull the Reign even with Bay FC, 1-1.
The veteran midfielder closed down an attempted clearance by Brooklyn Courtnall, settled the ball and scored from 10 yards out.
The tie puts the fifth-place Reign (9-7-8) on the cusp of clinching a playoff spot. Bay FC (4-12-8) extended its winless run to 13 matches.
Bay FC rookie Taylor Huff opened the scoring in the 31st minute. Rachael Kundananji broke free down the right wing and crossed to the back post where a wide-open Huff finished.
Kundananji is now tied for the most assists in the NWSL this season with five. Huff has four goals this year.
Reign defender Lauren Barnes came off the bench in the second half and became the first NWSL player to reach 250 league appearances.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
By THEO LLOYD-HUGHES
Associated Press
