Means scores late goal and Denver welcomes Heaps in a 2-1 victory over Portland

Natalie Means scored late and the Denver Summit welcomed U.S. national team captain Lindsey Heaps to the club with a 2-1 home victory over the Portland Thorns on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of more than 12,000.

Heaps started for Denver (5-4-4) after spending four seasons with Lyon. The Summit announced the signing in January, but she first had to finish the season with the French club.

Portland (8-5-3) took a 1-0 lead when Sophia Wilson converted a penalty kick in the 23rd minute.

Janine Sonis made it 1-1 in first half-stoppage time, before Means scored her first professional goal on a narrow angle shot from outside the box in the 86th minute.

Esther González scored a brace and Rose Lavelle added the winner as Gotham FC (9-3-3) erased a late two-goal deficit for a 3-2 victory over the visiting Seattle Reign.

Mia Fishel scored on a penalty kick in the 14th minute for a 1-0 Seattle lead and Maddie Mercado made it 2-0 in the 22nd minute on a feed from Maddie Dahlien.

The Reign (5-7-2) drew another penalty kick in the 50th minute but Dahlien’s attempt hit off the post.

González cut the lead in half in the 81st minute, then scored the equalizer in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Three minutes later, Sam Kerr slipped it to Rose Lavelle for the victory.

With the win, Gotham passed the San Diego Wave for the top spot in the NWSL standings. The match at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island was delayed more than two hours due to inclement weather.

Karlie Lema scored a first-half brace as visiting Bay FC (5-6-3) cruised to a 3-0 win over the North Carolina Courage.

Lema beat multiple defenders and rounded past goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan for the game’s first goal in the 14th minute. She made it 2-0 three minutes later. Lema has now scored in three consecutive games with four goals in that span.

Racheal Kundananji intercepted a Courage pass and slotted it home for the final tall.

Goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz made five saves for her second consecutive clean sheet and fourth of the season.

The Courage (6-5-3) have dropped consecutive matches.

Narumi Miura scored as the Utah Royals (8-4-3) beat the Orlando Pride to end a two-match skid.

Narumi dribbled left to the edge of the box and lofted the ball into the goal in the 36th minute.

The Pride (6-8-2) finished with three shots with none on target.

Mandy McGlynn secured her fourth clean sheet of the season for Utah.

Maiara Niehues scored for the fifth straight game and Sveindís Jónsdóttir added a late goal to lead Angel City (7-6-1) to its third straight win, 2-0 over the Chicago Stars.

Niehues scored on a penalty kink on the 56th minute after a video review determined that Ary Borges was fouled in the box.

Jónsdóttir scored on a breakaway in stoppage time.

Since taking over as interim coach, Leif Smerud has led Angel City to three straight 2-0 results, the first time the club has had three straight shutout wins.

Spain international Leila Ouahabi made her debut for Chicago Stars (4-11-0).

Kat Rader scored late in second-half stoppage time to give the Houston Dash a 1-1 draw with Racing Louisville (2-10-2), which snapped a five-match losing streak.

Louisville took the lead in the 19th minute when Kayla Fischer scored on a scramble in the box. That ended a 289-minute goal drought for Racing Louisville.

Rader fired home the equalizer for the Dash (4-7-4) in the 95th minute.

The game was delayed an hour due to inclement weather.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Denver Summit FC forward Janine Sonis looks on during a NWSL soccer match against Gotham FC, March 25, 2026 in Harrison, N.J. (AP Photo/Vera Nieuwenhuis, File)

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Athletics pitcher J.T. Ginn has not allowed a hit through six innings against the Washington Nationals on Saturday night.

Ginn has retired 18 of the 21 batters he’s faced. Washington’s only baseruners came on a pair of two-out walks in the second and a two-out walk in the fifth.

Ginn has seven strikeouts and has thrown 77 pitches, 47 for strikes.

The closest the Nationals have come to a hit was in the fifth when Dylan Crews appeared to beat out an infield single to third baseman Joshua Kuroda-Grauer. After Crews was initially ruled safe, the A’s challenged and the call was overturned following a replay review for the final out of the inning.

Kuroda-Grauer also made a diving catch in the outfield on CJ Abrams' popup in the fourth.

Ginn, who had a 3.67 ERA going into the game, has never thrown a complete game during his three-year major league career.

The A’s, who have lost 10 straight, lead 6-0.

Mike Fiers had the last no-hitter for the A’s against the Cincinnati Reds in 2019 when the team was still in Oakland.

Four Houston Astros pitchers combined to no-hit the Texas Rangers on May 25, the only no-hitter in the majors this season.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Athletics pitcher J.T. Ginn walks to the dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Saturday, July 18, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)

Athletics pitcher J.T. Ginn throws to the Washington Nationals during the second inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 18, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)