Katie O'Kane scored a pair of goals and Racing Louisville won its second match of the NWSL season with a 3-1 victory over the first-place Portland Thorns on Friday night.
Emma Sears also scored for Louisville (2-5-1), which snapped a two-game losing streak with the win at home.
Sophia Wilson scored for the Thorns (6-2-1) in the sixth minute, outrunning defender Arin Wright. Wilson has three goals in four matches.
O'Kane evened the score for Louisville in the 15th with her first goal of the season.
O'Kane put Louisville ahead in the 76th with a goal off a direct free kick that curled into the top corner for her first career brace.
Sears added a goal in stoppage time. She did not start for Louisville but entered the match as a substitute in the 66th minute.
Barbra Banda scored her league-leading eighth goal of the season to give the Orlando Pride a 1-0 victory at home over the North Carolina Courage.
Banda's bouncing goal to the far post came in the 87th minute and snapped a two-game losing streak for Orlando (3-2-3).
The match was knotted through the first half in pouring rain. The weather cleared in the second half as the Pride upped the pressure.
Marta took a pass from Banda in the 61st minute but Courage goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan got a hand on it and parried it wide.
The Courage (2-4-2) are winless in three straight.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda (11) controls the ball during an NWSL soccer match against Seattle Reign FC, on March 15, 2026 in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
PHOENIX (AP) — The struggling Arizona Diamondbacks shook up their roster Friday, promoting their top prospect, outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt, from Triple-A and designating veteran outfielder Alek Thomas for assignment.
The 23-year-old Waldschmidt — who nearly made the team out of spring training — was batting .289 with three homers, 22 RBIs and an .877 OPS at Triple-A Reno. He was the 31st pick in the 2024 amateur draft out of Kentucky.
Waldschmidt was not in the starting lineup Friday night against the New York Mets, but he had a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning of a 3-1 loss. Both of his parents, his brother and some friends were at Chase Field to watch.
“That's one of the things you're looking to do — get your first hit,” Waldschmidt said. “For it to come in the first at-bat is really cool and definitely relieves some of the pressure that you put on yourself.”
The Diamondbacks have lost 12 of 16, falling to 17-20 this season.
The 26-year-old Thomas was hitting .181 with two homers in 100 plate appearances. The speedy center fielder has been a good defensive player throughout his five-year tenure with the club, but often struggled at the plate.
He has a .230 career batting average and a .273 on-base percentage. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo praised Thomas' ability and work ethic, but said the D-backs needed better at-bats at the bottom of the order.
“This is a game of production, this is a game of being able to go out there and do your job,” Lovullo said. “When things are grinding, and there's somebody as talented and ready as Ryan Waldschmidt is, these are the things that can potentially happen.”
Thomas had his share of big moments with the Diamondbacks, particularly during the team's run to the World Series in 2023. He hit four homers during the postseason, including a tying, two-run shot against the Phillies in Game 4 of the NLCS.
D-backs general manager Mike Hazen has seven days to trade or release Thomas before he's put on waivers. If he's not picked up by one of the other 29 teams, he could theoretically be sent back to Triple-A Reno.
“He is a tremendously talented player and a great kid and he works his butt off,” Hazen said. “It just didn't click for us for extended periods of time here.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Arizona Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas (5) takes batting practice before a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
