**CARY, N.C.** – The North Carolina Courage and Angel City FC battled their way through to a scoreless draw on Saturday night, with the hosts outshooting the visitors 12-6 and 3-1 in shots on goal but ultimately being unable to break the deadlock in the end. The draw leaves North Carolina in 6 ^th place while Angel City remains in 9 ^th place with the point.
North Carolina began testing Angel City early on with forwards Kerolin and Tyler Lussi linking up. Kerolin played Lussi in with a pass down the right side of the box where Lussi ripped a right-footed shot toward the near post in the 14 ^th minute. However, ACFC goalkeeper DiDi Haracic was there to smother the ball and end the move.
Then, in the 23 minute, it was Lussi against Haracic again as a unique turn on the ball allowed Lussi some space by the near post. However, it was a tough ask for Lussi to sneak her shot around Haracic from a tight angle and the shotstopper did well to get low and produce a good save.
Lussi only further pestered the Angel City goal, this time with a diving headed effort in the 28 ^th minute as the one-sided swing continued. North Carolina midfielder Narumi Miura was on the ball out wide to the right when she lifted a cross to the back post that forced Lussi to run onto it. Arriving just behind the ball though, Lussi was unable to get her effort down on frame and the shot sailed high and wide in the end.
The second half’s beginning theme was similar to the first half as the Courage put Angel City on the backfoot in the 48 ^th minute. This time, Kerolin laid the ball off with a cheeky backheel near the top of the box that allowed Narumi Miura to run onto the ball. From there, her left-footed effort sailed through the defense but could only clip the post on its way over and out as the chance went begging.
The match was not entirely one-sided, though, as Angel City’s first major chance came in the 63 ^rd minute as the visitors poked and prodded around the North Carolina back line. Forward Alyssa Thompson had received a pass from teammate Savannah McCaskill moving ahead, though her right-footed shot from the left side of the box was blocked. A bit of an awkward ball forward for Angel City in the 70 ^th minute then caused a bit of panic in the backline of the Courage, but a poised goalkeeper in Casey Murphy came out to meet the ball in with a closed fist to send it out of danger.
Two final moments in the game’s late stages gave opportunities for both teams to take a late lead. First in the 87 ^th minute, North Carolina forward Olivia Wingate had a shot from inside the box saved by Haracic as the hosts thought they had produced a good enough chance to win it. However, it was Angel City who would come breathtakingly close to finding a last-gasp winner as a cross into the box was fumbled by Murphy right in front of goal, only for an Angel City player to fail to bundle it over the line as the hosts got the ball clear at the last second.
The result does extend North Carolina’s league unbeaten run to four games (W2 D2) heading into next week’s meeting with Racing Louisville. Meanwhile, Angel City is now winless in two after going unbeaten in their previous two before that as a rollercoaster season in terms of results continues.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights