Goalkeeper Bella Bixby’s goal rescues 3-3 draw for Portland Thorns in wild finish

In a wild match, the Portland Thorns got an unlikely second-half stoppage time goal from goalkeeper Bella Bixby to rescue a 3-3 draw against Angel City FC at Providence Park on Saturday night.

Trailing 3-2 and desperate for an equalizer, the Thorns sent Bixby forward into the opposing penalty box for a corner kick and she poked home the tying goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time after the ball was spilled by Angel City keeper Didi Haracic.

It capped off a back-and-forth match that saw the Thorns trail early, come back to grab the lead in the second half, then tie it up after seemingly letting it slip away late.

Portland (3-0-2, 11 points) extended its season-opening unbeaten streak to five games, and sits atop the NWSL table.

Angel City of Los Angeles took the lead inside of 10 minutes, but a first-half penalty by Hina Sugita and a goal in the 65th minute by Morgan Weaver looked like it would be enough to get the Thorns the victory.

It wasn’t to be, though, as a Thorns own goal and a Julie Ertz tally for Angel City in the 74th and 79th minutes, respectively, turned the game on its head.

Bixby’s goal sent a final jolt through the home crowd on what was likely the last chance to claim a point. Sam Coffey’s service from the corner looked to be handled by Haracic, but she couldn’t control the ball to the ground and it squirted out to Bixby, who tapped it into the open net calmly with the side of her foot.

Bixby’s goal is the second ever by a Thorns keeper. Michelle Betos scored a tying goal in stoppage time against Kansas City on June 19, 2015.

Weaver scored the go-ahead goal off a brilliant pass from second-half substitute Olivia Moultrie. In the first half, Weaver’s individual run led to Dunn drawing the penalty that was converted by Sugita in the 31st minute to even the score.

Angel City took the early initiative and grabbed the lead in the ninth minute on a fantastic individual effort by 18-year-old rookie Alyssa Thompson. Thompson shook defender Kelli Hubly with a sharp cutback dribble in the penalty area then slid a low shot beyond the fingertips of Bixby.

Thompson was the top pick in this year’s NWSL draft after passing on an opportunity to play in college for Stanford. She made her first start for the U.S. national team earlier this month.

The visitors nearly doubled their lead seven minutes later when Thompson’s pass sprung an attack that led to Savannah McCaskill brushing the crossbar with an attempt from the edge of the penalty area.

The Thorns finally started to engineer their own pressure as the first half wore on. Weaver used her speed to coast by defender Jasmyne Spencer and fired a cross to Dunn, who was chopped down from behind by Angel City’s Ertz for a penalty.

Sugita’s attempt from the spot didn’t have much pace, but it was well-placed inside the right post for her second goal of the season and seventh in her Thorns career.

Moultrie’s assist on the second goal was a stinging ball forward from the right wing that Weaver was able to corral around Haracic and cut back into the net at a sharp angle.

Angel City’s two goals to turn around the match each came on set pieces. A cross off a free kick from right of the penalty area glanced off Portland’s Natalia Kuikka and in for the tying goal. Bixby protested the goal to no avail, contending that Ertz had interfered with her ability to get to the ball.

Ertz then notched the go-ahead goal on a near-post run to flick in a header from a service by Clarisse Le Bihan from the left wing.

Moultrie had a clear shot at an equalizer denied by Haracic from a nice pass by Weaver in the 82nd minute.

Portland’s leading scorer, Sophia Smith, came off the bench for the first time this season, replacing Sugita in the 56th minute.

The Thorns are on the road for their next two games, starting with a matchup against North Carolina next Saturday at 4 p.m.

— Scott Sepich for The Oregonian/OregonLive