Portland Thorns x OL Reign

On Wednesday night, OL Reign beat its Cascadia rivals, the Portland Thorns, 1-0 in the Challenge Cup courtesy of a goal scored by forward Elyse Bennett in the 54th minute. With 10 points after four games, the Reign remains atop the West Division rankings, while Portland slips to third with 3 points after three encounters against each other.

When Elyse Bennett scored the first goal for the Reign with a powerful header past Portland goalkeeper Shelby Hogan during a set piece routine, the game was effectively over. Alyssa Malonson was in a good position to take the free kick for the Reign close to the opponent's half after the ball was passed from right to left. Malonson, still 40 yards out, lofted a wonderful cross to the back post for Bennett to cling onto, and the attacker did it in spectacular fashion, beating the keeper with a towering header to give the visitors the lead.

Then, in the opening minute of extra time, Moultrie had a desperate chance to score. Again, the midfielder pulled up from just outside the box and sent a powerful shot into the top left corner of the goal, which seemed to be her specialty. The Thorns' chances of scoring were crushed when they were unable to capitalize on a lost ball or generate a rebound attempt later in stoppage time.

[Photography by Jackie Shinstrom]