Crystal Dunn scored the decisive goal in the third minute of overtime and the host Portland Thorns advanced to the NWSL championship game with a 2-1 victory over the San Diego Wave on Sunday.
The second-seeded Thorns will face either the top-seeded OL Reign or fifth-seeded Kansas City Current in Saturday’s title game in Washington, D.C. The two teams were meeting Sunday night in the other semifinal.
Dunn’s winner was a right-footed shot from the center of the box that found the top left corner of the net.
“It was a good ball in,” Dunn told CBS Sports Network of a loose ball that came her way. “… I thought, ‘Strike this as hard as you can,’ and just hoped nobody blocks it.”
Third-seeded San Diego took a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute on Taylor Kornieck’s header off a cross from star Alex Morgan. Portland tied the score in the 20th minute on Raquel Rodriguez’s right-footed shot.
The Thorns have won two NWSL titles (2013, 2017).
–Field Level Media