LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Thembi Kgatlana scored in the 64th minute to help Racing Louisville earn a comeback win over the Portland Thorns on Saturday at Lynn Family Stadium in Kentucky.
With the loss, Portland (8-5-5) fell into second place in the NWSL standings, one point behind San Diego (9-3-6), which beat Houston 1-0 on Sunday. Racing (5-4-9) moved into sixth, the final playoff spot, with the win.
Louisville put the Thorns under a lot of pressure at the start of the match, creating six shots in five minutes — with one going off the post and another off the crossbar.
However, Portland got on the board first, scoring in their first attempt. In the sixth minute, Morgan Weaver rushed to block goalkeeper Katie Lund's clearance after receiving a slow back pass. The ball fell to Weaver, who took a dribble and shot into an open net.
An opportunity for Louisville to equalize was cleared right in front of the goal just before halftime, and the home team finished with 18 shots and no goal to close out the first half.
Abby Erceg scored in the 60th, heading in Wang Shuang's corner kick — with a slight deflection from Portland's Hina Sugita.
Kgatlana brought Louisville ahead in the 64th, collecting a clearance at the top of the box and finishing into the left corner with her eighth shot of the match.
Racing finished with 26 shots, and Bella Bixby made eight saves for Portland to keep the game close.
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