**SEATTLE, Wa.** – OL Reign and the North Carolina Courage dueled to a 1-1 draw on Sunday night in a contest that saw the Reign play with a player down for the entirety of the second half after a red card to Alana Cook in first half stoppage time. Reign forward Bethany Balcer opened the scoring before North Carolina attacker Kerolin equalized in the 43 ^rd minute, but neither side would break the deadlock in the second half. The result leaves OL Reign in that 6 ^th and final playoff position with 28 points from 20 games played, two points clear of the Dash. Meanwhile, North Carolina are in 4 ^th place with 29 points from 20 games and ahead of the Washington Spirit on goal differential.
The Courage were actually first to create a chance in front of goal with North Carolina star Kerolin striking the post in the 2 ^nd minute of the match. The visitors had produced a lightning quick move forward that saw the ball worked out wide to the right with forward Tess Boade. Boade then slid a ball through the middle of the box and picked out Kerolin, but the Brazilian failed to beat Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey as she rattled the post before the ball kicked out.
After working their way into the match, the Reign then capitalized on a set piece in the 21 ^st minute as a Megan Rapinoe corner kick found forward Bethany Balcer at the back post. Rapinoe had lifted a long ball toward Balcer, who was relatively unmarked in the box waiting for the delivery. Balcer then produced a strong header down through the crowd as she rose to meet the delivery, and the Reign gave the home crowd something to cheer about early on with the opening goal.
However, just before the halftime break, Kerolin took advantage of a misjudgment by Dickey in goal and ended up tapping the ball into an empty net in the 43 ^rd minute to bring the match level again. Kerolin had broken through the defense when she swerved an oncoming Dickey as Kerolin approached the penalty area. Working her way to just left of center, Kerolin then had an open goal in front of her as she beat all defenders near her and calmly slotted the ball home.
The defining moment of the first half, though, came when Kerolin had burst ahead for the Courage following a broken down Reign set piece in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Kerolin had gone through on goal when a nasty challenge from Reign defender Alana Cook from behind caused the attacker to crumble underneath the tackle. Cook was promptly dismissed for the action, but the Courage could not convert from their free kick that followed as the halftime whistled eventually sounded.
The second half contained chances for both sides with Rapinoe testing North Carolina goalkeeper Casey Murphy from distance in the 55 ^th minute, only for Murphy to push the ball away for a corner. Rapinoe was just a few yards inside the opposing half when she tried to catch Murphy off her line, but the ensuing shot did not have the height required to chip Murphy.
Then, in the 74 ^th minute, North Carolina’s big chance came as Manaka struck the crossbar with an effort of her own from the edge of the 18-yard box to give the hosts a scare. Manaka had just received a pass approaching the penalty area when she attempted to curl a shot over the head of Dickey and in, but the ball cruelly struck the crossbar and was eventually cleared as the Courage pushed for a winner with a one-player advantage.
One final chance for North Carolina came in the 82 ^nd minute after a giveaway at the other end saw them race forward in attack with a look for substitute Haley Hopkins in the end. Hopkins was played through by teammate Emily Fox with a slick ball into the penalty area, and though Hopkins produced a fine shot to boot, Dickey produced an even better save to keep the ball out and hold the draw.
Despite the Courage’s best efforts, though, the Reign were able to hold on to a point with a resilient second half earning them a result.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights