Cary, N.C- 3,958 fans gathered at WakeMed Soccer Park as the North Carolina Courage faced the newest club of the NWSL, the Utah Royals. The Courage remain in the lead with their first-place ranking, but with today’s 2-2 draw against the Royals, their four-game winning streak was snapped and they now stand at a 4-0-1 record.
The Courage scored an early goal off a corner kick made by Abby Dahlkemper in the sixth minute when the ball was passed from the center of the box to defender Merritt Mathias, who stood ground outside the box and took a clear shot on goal. The ball soared above the heads of Utah’s defense and the Courage offense to the back of the net giving North Carolina an early lead.
The Utah Royals made contact with Courage goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland in the 36th minute when defender Kelley O’Hara took a shot on goal just above the box, but Rowland made the direct save and then cleared the ball.
Just before the half ended, forward Lynn Williams received the ball and faced defender Rachel Corsie one-on-one.
Although Utah was down by the half, they managed for the Courage to be in the lead by just one goal. North Carolina had a 53.5% possession percentage of the ball whereas the Royals had a 46.5% possession percentage by the mark of the half.
In the 52nd minute, forward Katie Stengel received a perfect ball and followed through past the Courage backline and headed the ball past the goalkeeper to score the second ever goal for Utah. The last time they scored was in Week 1 when they competed against the Orlando Pride, which resulted in a 1-1 draw.
The Courage defense passed the ball back to their goalkeeper in the 66th minute and the clearance kick from Rowland landed at the feet of attacker Brittany Ratcliffe who scored to turn the tables making it 2-1.
Utah had high hopes as they could possibly achieve their first victory of 2018, but the Courage were still fighting. Both sides made substitutions in the 66th and 69th minute.
Amy Rodriguez entered the pitch and made her second debut and almost increased the Royals lead, but the shot was blocked.
North Carolina continued to persevere and in the 80th minute, midfielder Denise O’Sullivan passed the ball from the right side of the field to up center for Lynn Williams, but was then deflected by goalkeeper Abby Smith. The ball had a quick spin to it and landed before Williams with a Utah defender coming close and Crystal Dunn shot the ball to score the equalizer.
The Courage remain in first place where the Utah Royals stand in sixth. The North Carolina Courage will resume play on Saturday, April 28th as they meet up to play the Houston Dash. Utah Royals FC continue to fight for their first win of the year when they host the Portland Thorns FC on Saturday, April 28th for Week 5.
SCORING SUMMARY:
NC-Merritt Mathias, 6’
UTA-Katie Stengel, 52’
UTA-Brittany Ratcliffe, 66’
NC-Crystal Dunn, 80’
BOOKING SUMMARY:
NC-Kristen Hamilton, yellow card, 17’
UTA-Brittany Ratcliffe, yellow card, 28’
NC-Abby Dahlkemper, yellow card, 87’
NC COURAGE: #99-Katelyn Rowland, #15-Jalene Hinkle, #6-Abby Erceg, #13-Abby Dahlkemper, #11-Merritt Mathias, #19-Crystal Dunn, #8-Denise O’Sullivan (#4-Elizabeth Eddy, 86’), #7-McCall Zerboni, #23-Kristen Hamilton, (Samantha Mewis, 66’), #9-Lynn Williams, #14-Jessica McDonald, (Darian Jenkins, 56’)
Subs not used:
#1-Sabrina D’Angelo, #31-Kaleigh Kurtz, #16-Cari Roccaro
UTAH ROYALS FC: #1-Abby Smith, #5-Kelley O’Hara (#20-Elise Thorsnes, 69’), #4-Becky Sauerbrunn, #2-Rachel Corsie, #17-Sydney Miramontez, #23-Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir, #11-Desiree Scott, #6-Katie Bowen, #9-Lo’eau Labonta (#8-Amy Rodriguez, 69’), #25-Brittany Ratcliffe (#10-Diana Matheson, 85’), #24-Katie Stengel
Subs not used: #18-Nicole Barnhart, #12-Taylor Lytle, #3-Rebecca Moros, #15-Erika Tymrak
TOTAL SHOTS: NC 11-4 UTA
SHOTS ON GOAL: NC 5-4 UTA
FOULS: NC 10-3 UTA
OFFSIDES: NC 3-2 UTA
CORNER KICKS: NC 10-0 UTA
SAVES: NC 2-3 UTA
North Carolina Courage
Utah Royals FC
