**Seattle, Washington** – The hosts OL Reign defeated the North Carolina Courage, 2-0, thanks to goals from Bethany Balcer and Jess Fishlock that were provided to by one and scored by the other to help the Reign break their recent run of scoring one or less goals in the regular season.
In the 17 ^th minute, North Carolina forward Kerolin produced an incredible bit of skill as she wriggled through the box and fired a low shot to the right side of goal that was saved well by Reign goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce and pushed into the side netting for a corner kick.
On the other side though, the hosts OL Reign created their best opportunities toward the end of the first half beginning in the 36 ^th minute with attacker Tziarra King. A ball sent in from the right side found its way past the entirety of the Courage defense where King awaited on the left. Having a look at goal, King took a chance on a narrow angle and only the fingertips of North Carolina goalkeeper Kelly Rowland prevented the ball from finding the back of the net.
Then, just three minutes later, the Reign came close again through midfielder Jess Fishlock only to be denied once more by Rowland in a fantastic manner. A well-worked move down the right side of the field saw the ball cut back to the top of the box where Fishlock awaited the pass. Hitting the rolling ball on the first time asking, Fishlock curled the shot with her right foot but could only look on as an acrobatic save from Rowland kept the score level.
At the break, neither side were able to break the deadlock despite chances for Kerolin, King and Fishlock in that order, and the second half was left to find a potential winner.
Into the second half, the Reign didn’t have to wait long for another quality opportunity on goal as King was on the ball and in attack just three minutes into the second half. As the ball was worked to the left side, King was in possession just inside the penalty area and cut up before powering a shot at Rowland’s near post. However, Rowland repelled the shot out for a corner that resulted in nothing.
The wait would not be much longer for the opening goal however, as Fishlock ignited the Seattle crowd with an easy finish in the 52 ^nd minute for her second goal of the season. Forward Bethany Balcer cut inside on a defender and played a simple through pass for Fishlock to latch onto, and all the midfielder had to do was tap home as the hosts took the lead.
Just past the hour mark, the Reign had multiple good attacking buildups apply pressure on the Courage defense and goal. In the 64 ^th minute, for example, Reign’s Phoebe McClernon played a through ball for forward Veronica Latsko to pick up, and though Latsko would end up putting the ball in the back of the net, the flag had already been raised for offside at the near touchline as the move ended.
However, the hosts would end up doubling their lead after 74 minutes when forward Bethany Balcer slid a shot past Rowland and in. Turning from scorer to provider, Fishlock helped keep the move going near the top of the box before she played the ball to Balcer on the run. From there, Balcer was able to sneak an effort on at the near post to go two up.
In the end, North Carolina was unable to claw back and come within a goal of even. Instead, once again, the Reign proved their effectiveness when it comes to second half chance conversion and two second half goals separated the sides with the hosts keeping all three points in Seattle.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights