Sentnor's late strike rescues a point for Angel City against Washington Spirit

With just five minutes to go, Angel City looked headed for another loss on home turf. Then Ally Sentnor stepped up, ripping a shot from distance that found the net with no chance for the keeper, sealing a 1-1 draw against Washington Spirit. It's a point that feels like little consolation for the home side, but one that spares them another painful setback in a competition where every match matters in the standings.

Sentnor's goal was also her first with Angel City (7-7-4), and it came in the 85th minute, right as the clock started working against the home side. Before that, Angel City had already tasted the bitterness of VAR: in the 37th minute, Sentnor had put the ball in the back of the net, only for the review to determine that teammate Prisca Chilufya had committed a handball in the buildup, silencing the celebration in an instant.

Washington Spirit (11-5-4) had taken the lead through Trinity Rodman, who scored her tenth goal of the season in the 65th minute. The play started with a run from Tara Rudd, who drove toward the byline of the box and slipped a pass through for Rodman, who sprinted onto it and finished with a lofted touch over goalkeeper Angelina Anderson. It looked like it might be enough for the visitors to grab all three points, until Sentnor had the final say.

Houston survives a scare but takes all three points in Cary

In the other NWSL match of the day, Houston Dash pulled off a thrilling comeback to beat North Carolina Courage 3-2 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. The story of the match was written by Clarissa Larisey, who scored a brace that ultimately decided a game that had gotten away from the Texas side.

North Carolina (9-7-3) had jumped ahead early, in the 37th minute, on a goal from Ally Schlegel, who pounced on a rebound off a shot from Evelyn Ijeh. Houston (6-8-5) answered quickly: five minutes later, Kate Faasse tied the game after a shot from Kiki Van Zanten deflected off opposing goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.

The home side went back in front in the 51st minute, when Schlegel returned the favor with a pass to Ijeh inside the six-yard box. That goal, Ijeh's tenth of the season, carried some historical weight: alongside teammate Ashley Sanchez, who has 11 goals this season, the pair became the first teammate duo in NWSL history to each reach at least 10 goals in the same season.

But Houston refused to fold. Larisey, who had come on as a substitute, tied the game in the 80th minute, just 17 minutes after entering, finishing off a pass from Avery Patterson. Then, deep into stoppage time, in the 93rd minute, she struck again to seal it, heading home a long ball from Lisa Boattin to make it 3-2 for good, Houston's fifth goal scored in stoppage time so far this season.