NWSL Round-up: OL Reign win, Thorns and Courage lose

Topics: OL Reign, NWSL, Portland Thorns, North Carolina Courage, Bethany Balcer, Eugenie Le Sommer, Gotham FC, Chicago Red Stars, Kealia Watt, Christine Sinclair, Sydney Leroux, Ifeoma Onumonu

OL Reign made the best out of an NWSL weekend that saw the Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage lose on the same day for the first time since July 1, 2017.

The Reign extended its undefeated streak to six games after taking down an inspired Orlando Pride side 3-0 at Cheeney Stadium. Laura Harvey's team took care of business in the first half, scoring all the goals in the opening 32 minutes.

Forward Bethany Balcer reclaimed her NWSL top goal scorer status after bagging in her ninth goal of the season in the third minute of the encounter. French forward Eugenie Le Sommer, who was not called up to the French national team during international break, scored a four-minute brace to secure the three points at home. Her first goal served as proof that she can still come in handy in Corinne Diacre's French national team.

Unstoppable from Eugenie Le Sommer

(via @NWSL) pic.twitter.com/3AWWppvFQn
— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 26, 2021

The North Carolina Courage and Portland Thorns both lost on Saturday to Gotham FC and the Chicago Red Stars respectively.

The Courage was stunned by an NJ/NY Gotham FC side that has seen a lot of change in the staff and front office. New head coach Scott Parkinson claimed his first win with Gotham in style, beating the Courage 3-1 at Red Bull Arena.

As for the Thorns, an early lead against the Red Stars quickly turned into a nightmare. Portland captain Christine Sinclair opened the scoring in the 24th minute, scoring a perfectly placed finesse shot. However, Chicago's Kealia Watt punished the Thorns for a mistake in their box. Forward Rachel Hill headed home the game-winning goal in the 65th minute to seal the deal.