The old adage that the longer you let a team hang around, the more dangerous they become has proved true time and again. The latest instance: the first quarterfinal of the NWSL Challenge Cup.
The No. 8 seed Portland Thorns knocked off overwhelming favorite and top seed North Carolina Courage, 1–0, on Friday, opening the knockout stage with a stunner on multiple levels and blowing the competition wide open.
The Thorns entered the tournament without Tobin Heath and Adrianna Franch, lost fellow U.S. national team veteran Becky Sauerbrunn, rising talent Sophia Smith and stellar stand-in goalkeeper Bella Bixby along the way and had Lindsey Horan go down to injury 50 minutes in on Friday.