Cary, NC— The North Carolina Courage clinched a berth in the 2019 NWSL playoffs with their fifth straight win, but, playing their fourth game in ten days, it wasn’t a highlight-reel game.

After having North Carolina score nine goals in their previous two meetings, Houston came in with a clear game plan to stuff their defensive end of the field and absorb whatever pressure the Courage put on them. The strategy against a fatigued North Carolina squad was mostly effective.

Houston Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell turned in a standout game, coming within minutes of a clean sheet.

Following two decisive victories over Portland and Orlando in which they scored 12 goals, the Courage carried the run of play through much of the match. They had close to 61% possession of the ball and fired off 18 shots. Despite getting five shots on frame, Jane Campbell had yet another standout performance in goal for Houston, making four saves.

The best chance either side had to get on the scoreboard in the first half came early on when Courage forward Lynn Williams carried the ball deep into Houston’s defensive end and whipped a cross to Debinha in the box. Debinha ran onto the ball and drove a hard left-footed shot on goal but Campbell got to the ball and knocked it out for a corner.

Campbell would come up huge again late in the first half when Crystal Dunn worked herself free from her defenders and uncorked a screamer from the top of the 18-yard box only to see Campbell make the leaping save to keep the game scoreless.

The Courage would continue to dominate the game throughout the second half while Houston’s back line found continued success working in bend-but-don’t-break mode. In the 81^st minute it look like Dunn would break the deadlock when she took a pass from Williams in the middle of the 18-yard box and rifled a right-footed shot. The blast beat Campbell but slammed off of the goalpost and the grind continued for North Carolina.

The game had several controversial moments before the 86^th minute. Early in the game, Houston’s Allysha Chapman was defending Kristen Hamilton deep in Houston’s defensive end. As they tried to get possession of the ball, Hamilton caught Chapman with a high boot in the face. Chapman was down for several minutes but was cleared to continue. The Dash were awarded a free kick, but no yellow card was given to Hamilton for the high boot.

After having nine goals scored on them in their previous two meetings, the Dash defense closed down the Courage offense.

A non-call in the 58^th minute drew even more of Houston coach James Clarkson’s ire. Jaelene Hinkle and Sofia Huerta were challenging for the ball in North Carolina’s penalty area. Huerta went to ground after contact with Hinkle, but referee Thomas Snyder allowed play to continue. When asked by a pool reporter about the non-call following the match, Snyder responded that the play involved, “normal soccer contact.”

Courage head coach Paul Riley disagreed with Clarkson’s assessment of the contact. “That’s not a penalty for me,” he said. “The ball dropped, she backed into Jae and then jumped forward. That one certainly wasn’t a penalty. I’d be furious if they gave that.

Things came to a head in the 86^th minute when Houston midfielder Kristie Mewis collided with Dunn in the Dash penalty area. Snyder immediately pointed to the penalty spot. While her Dash teammates pleaded their case with Snyder, Mewis was given a yellow card for dissent while her sister, Samantha, set up the ball on the penalty spot.

Riley noted in his post-game comments to the media that he and Sam Mewis had a discussion before the game where it was decided that she would take any penalty kicks in the game. “She was quite happy to take it. She hits a good one. If she hadn’t hit it as hard, it might have been saved.”

When the referee signaled for play to resume, Mewis stepped up to the ball and drove a hard shot low to the bottom left corner. Campbell guessed the direction correctly and nearly made the save, but the ball found the back of the net. With just three minutes plus stoppage, the Courage broke the stalemate and added the three points to their total, putting them five points clear of second-place Chicago.

Clarkson did not hold back on his anger over the officiating. “It’s disgraceful,” he told reporters. “I’ll get a letter saying ‘We got it wrong,’ but it’s happened consistently.”

“It’s not good enough,” he continued. “For the standard of the league, the standard of the players, the quality of the players, the refereeing has to improve. You can’t tell me that was a penalty (on Mewis). Not in a million years.”

Jane Campbell and Allysha Chapman console Kristie Mewis following Houston’s 1-0 loss to North Carolina.

Through his bitter disappointment, Clarkson was proud of his players’ effort throughout the game. “I’m really frustrated because our team played really well tonight and we made it very difficult for them, and we got absolutely nothing out of the game, unfortunately.”

Meanwhile, Riley was happy that, despite their fatigue, his team got all three points and a clean sheet. “It wasn’t one of our great performances. We were a little fatigued with our fourth game in 10 days. We looked a little bit tired and sluggish, especially in midfield,” he said.

Final Notes

Courage forward Lynn Williams was named the NWSL Player of the Week. Williams had a hat trick against the Portland Thorns and added another goal against the Orlando Pride.
Following the match, several Houston Dash players vented their anger with the officiating over Twitter. “Sad when a ref ruins a game. Proud of our team. Horrible call,” Dash captain Kealia Ohai tweeted. From Amber Brooks: “Absolute bull****. The referee threw the game…per usual. Check yourself @PROreferees.” Allysha Chapman posted a photo of the moment Kristen Hamilton’s boot struck her in the face with the caption, “I’d yell at the ref, but my jaw hurts. Horrible officiating.”
Next up for North Carolina is a trip to Utah to take on the Royals on September 21^st. Then they’ll have a week to recover before they travel to Boyds, MD to take on the Washington Spirit.

Lineups

North Carolina Courage: S. Labbé; J. Hinkle, A. Erceg ©, A. Dahlkemper, M. Mathias (H. O’Reilly 78’); C. Dunn, D. O’Sullivan, S. Mewis, Debinha (J. Spetsmark 83’); L. Williams, K. Hamilton (J. McDonald 65’)

Houston Dash: J. Campbell; A. Chapman, A. Brooks, A. Prisock, H. Hanson; S. Schmidt; K. Ohai ©, K. Mewis, C. Nairn (C. Kizer 89’) S. Huerta; R. Daly

Score:
North Carolina Courage: 1

Houston Dash: 0

Goals:
North Carolina Courage: S. Mewis (87’ PK)

Houston Dash: none

Discipline
North Carolina Courage: none
Houston Dash: R. Daly, YC 73’; A. Brooks, YC 74’; K. Mewis, YC 86’

Attendance: 4,943

Photo gallery: North Carolina Courage v Houston Dash

All photos by Victoria Klum.