CARY, NC— The North Carolina Courage met the Washington Spirit in their rain check game originally scheduled for October 1st.
Playing their third of four games in 12 days, the Courage had the dual challenge of managing player minutes while staying in the thick of the playoff hunt. They were looking for a better all-around performance after a flat effort in Houston last Sunday.
For Washington’s part, they were looking to continue a strong late-season run saw them earn points in three of their previous five games.
The first half was fairly evenly played with both sides trying to find their way onto the scoreboard.
The opening tally of the game would, unsurprisingly, come from the foot of Trinity Rodman in the 39th minute. Tara McKeown took possession of the ball near the Courage 18-yard box and worked the play into the box looking for Ashley Hatch.
Under a heavy challenge from North Carolina defender Abby Erceg, Hatch whiffed her attempt, but the ball squirted out to a wide open Rodman. She sent a low drive toward the far post. Erceg scrambled to her feet after her tackle on Hatch to cover the goal line, but Rodman’s shot bounced off of her leg and into the net.
Despite being down a goal at halftime, there were a lot of positives for North Carolina to take into the second half. Midfielder Meredith Speck had put in a solid half helping her team create opportunities. However, the Courage just weren’t locking down that final pass and challenging Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe.
North Carolina nearly leveled the score in the 51st minute off of a short corner kick. Carson Pickett tapped the ball back to Speck who delivered a stunning lob to the edge of the six-yard box. Lynn Williams skied and had placed her header about as perfectly as anyone could but Bledsoe got her fingers on it and tipped it over the crossbar to keep her team in the lead.
It was clear that Speck was going to leave her mark on the scoresheet as well as the game. As the game ticked into the 60th minute, Pickett started the play out of North Carolina’s end finding Debinha just past midfield. She slipped the ball out wide to Jessica McDonald who was making her run down the flank. McDonald worked the ball inside and fired a shot that Bledsoe parried aside.
The Spirit goalkeeper couldn’t control the rebound, and there was Speck running full steam toward the goal. She beat Bledsoe to the ball and slammed it home (while slamming into the goalpost herself).
“Basically I thought I was going to have to seal [the play]off in case they tried to clear it. And Jess played it—she’s just so dangerous—and she got [to the]end line…and she just played a very tough ball between the defender and the goalie and I was [at the]back post and I knew I needed to run through this and I literally ran into the post. But it was worth it.”
But North Carolina’s hopes to take at least a point from the game suffered a setback in the 70th minute. Washington took a corner kick and it appeared that there was a miscommunication between goalkeeper Casey Murphy and her defense. Murphy’s attempt to clear the ball only went as far as the top of the 18-yard box where Washington’s Julia Roddar stepped up and volleyed a low line drive that got past Murphy, who was screened on the play. It was Roddar’s first NWSL goal.
The setback seemed to give the Courage even more fight and they continued to chase down an equalizer. But time ran out and the Spirit took away all three points and jumped into third place in the NWSL table.
While the result wasn’t what North Carolina wanted, interim head coach Sean Nahas was very pleased with his team’s performance on the night. “I thought it was one of our best performances in a long time,” he said in his post-game talk with the media.
“I felt the players performed brilliantly, with everything we asked them to do, especially out of possession. We had 81% pass completion; we had almost 55% possession…we created some good chances. [Washington’s] chances came off of broken plays and second phases…but we’re disappointed. We felt we dropped point there.”
Final Notes
- Both teams gathered at the center circle prior to kickoff in a show of solidarity with a deadline looming for the NWSL to meet the NWSLPA’s list of demands.
- With the loss, the Courage fell to 6th place in the NWSL table, where they currently hold the final playoff spot. They must get points out of their final two regular season games to remain in playoff contention.
- There is a growing campaign among Courage players to #removeinterim from interim head coach Sean Nahas’ title. He has had vocal support from Abby Erceg, Kaleigh Kurtz, and Meredith Speck in recent press conferences. Asked about his thoughts on the subject, he said, “I didn’t come into this thinking, ‘Man, I want this interim taken off’—and don’t get me wrong; it’s just a phone call—but at the end of the day, I care about these players, the trust has been built; it’s been built together…Whatever comes of it, comes of it.”
- INJURY UPDATE: In the pre-game conference call with the media, Nahas said that midfielder Sam Mewis is making good progress, but he didn’t have a timeline for her return to the lineup. Mewis is going to be in the USWNT camp next week but will not suit up for the team. Havana Solaun, who had to be carried from the pitch by teammates Jessica McDonald and Abby Erceg in the game at Houston last week, underwent imaging to determine the extent of her injury. The team expects to know more in the next 24-36 hours.
- North Carolina closes out a very busy week of three games in seven days when they NJ/NY Gotham FC on Sunday, October 17. This marks their final home game of the regular season. The Courage close out the regular season in Portland on Saturday, October 30.
Lineups
North Carolina Courage: C. Murphy; K. Kurtz, C. Pickett, A. Erceg, M. Mathias (R. Williams 85’); C. Roccaro (A. James 85’), M. Speck (A. Rodriguez 69’), D. O’Sullivan, Debinha; L. Williams, J. McDonald (T. Smith 78’)
Washington Spirit: A. Bledsoe; S. Staab, K. O’Hara, E. Sonnett, P. Nielsen (J. Roddar 46’); A. Sanchez (K. Yokoyama 81’), D. Bailey, T. Huster (T. Aylmer 73’), T. Rodman (T. McGrady 75’), T. McKeown (A. Heilferty 46’), A. Hatch
Score:
North Carolina Courage: 1
Washington Spirit: 2
Goals:
North Carolina Courage: M. Speck 60’ (unassisted)
Washington Spirit: T. Rodman 39’ (unassisted); J. Roddar 70’ (unassisted)
Discipline:
North Carolina Courage: K. Kurtz, YC 31’
Washington Spirit: none
