Ashley Sanchez scored twice as the North Carolina Courage beat the Seattle Reign 3-1 on Saturday night.
In the only other match on the Fourth of July holiday, the San Diego Wave defeated reigning National Women's Soccer League champions Gotham FC 2-0.
The Reign (4-6-2) took an early lead when Sally Menti took cross from Sofia Huerta, and blasted it past Courage goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan in the 19th minute. It was Menti's first goal of the season.
Less than four minutes later, Sanchez had her eighth goal of the season to tie it.
Seattle’s Madison Curry fouled Ally Schlegel in the box, and Riley Jackson converted the penalty to put North Carolina (6-3-3) on top 2-1 in the 64th minute.
Sanchez scored again in the 71st to move past Kansas City's Temwa Chawinga with nine goals this season. Sanchez trails only Orlando’s Barbara Banda, who leads the league with 11.
The match was pushed back an hour from its original start time because of expected high temperatures. The game-time temperature in Cary, North Carolina, was in the 90s.
Melanie Barcenas and Trinity Byars scored for the league-leading Wave at home.
Barcenas scored in the 45th minute. Her shot from distance kissed the post and went in for her third goal of the season.
Barcenas' tea-sipping celebration was a tribute to Alex Morgan, one of the Wave's owners, who pretended to take a sip of tea after scoring in a match against England during the 2019 Women's World Cup.
Byars added a late goal in stoppage time, catching Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger far up the field.
The Wave (9-4-1) are the top team in the league, which restarted this weekend after an extended summer break.
Gotham (6-3-3) signed Australian striker Sam Kerr earlier this week, but she is not expected to be available until July 15, when Gotham plays the Washington Spirit.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Expedia Cruises invites you to experience travel at its most refined. From intimate wildlife… Read moreElite Explorers Expo
CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.