North Carolina Courage 3—0 NJ/NY Gotham FC
Cary, NC— The North Carolina Courage knew they needed to wring every point out of their remaining games to keep their playoff hopes alive. After blanking Orlando 3-0 on Wednesday, they came home to WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday night to face NJ/NY Gotham FC.
Enter Debinha, who is currently playing on an entirely different level from the rest of the league, and quite possibly, the rest of the soccer world. She lit up the Gotham defense for three goals, leading the Courage to a 3-0 win and—for the moment—a playoff spot.
For all of the Brazilian Brilliance on display Saturday night, it’s impossible to ignore the contributions of the rest of the Courage team. Her goals, and a couple of near-misses, were the result of some great service and some incredible combination play, including a cheeky give-and-go in the 16th minute. The play started with Debinha passing to Carson Pickett at the top of the box through Taryn Torres’ legs. Pickett gave the ball back via a saucy back pass and after a couple of touches, uncorked a shot that clanked off the post.
But Courage supporters wouldn’t have to wait much longer for the two players to combine for a goal. In the 27th minute, Pickett lined up a pass that Debinha caught up to just outside the Gotham box. Michelle Betos came well out of her goal to challenge, but the Courage midfielder pulled the ball around the goalkeeper and as she approached the end line, sent a shot on goal that bounced in at the far post.
Hats off to an incredible night from @Debinha7! ?
It's a THIRD goal on the night for the Brazilian.#NCvNJNY | @TheNCCourage pic.twitter.com/HelmqVylPg
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 25, 2022
Her second goal of the night was an absolute jaw-dropper made possible by a picture-perfect lofted ball into the box. The way it fell gave Debinha the perfect opportunity for an airborne volley that beat Betos and doubled North Carolina’s lead 10 minutes before halftime.
Although the Courage team defense held Gotham’s talented attackers at bay, former Courage player Taylor Smith nearly got one back for the visitors on the edge of halftime. She drove down the right flank and pulled inside taking on Abby Erceg. She found a seam and fired a shot at the net, but North Carolina goalkeeper Casey Murphy hit the ground to keep New Jersey/New York off the board.
Murphy came up big again in the 63rd minute when Kristie Mewis got the ball in some space at the left side of the Courage 18-yard box. Her rising shot forced Murphy to slap the ball over the crossbar to preserve the shutout.
Debinha completed her hat trick courtesy of a well-placed through ball from Tess Boade that found the Brazilian with miles of green in front of her and only Betos to beat. The Gotham keeper had no choice but to come off her line but Debinha easily chipped the ball over Betos and into the net.
“I thought it was our best performance of the year, to be honest,” said head coach Sean Nahas. “Especially in the first half. Second half, I thought we were a little bit hesitant in certain areas. But, yeah, I thought it was the most complete performance that we’ve had. The decisions, the spaces we took up, the patience in possession, the opportunities to break lines and go after players, I fent that we were relentless.”
And the fans who packed WakeMed Soccer Park Saturday night saw the Courage at their best, according to defender Kaleigh Kurtz. “We were just so solid defensively. It was like, ‘Wow! this is how it was supposed to have been all season long!’” she said in her post-game press conference.
As of Saturday night, the Courage leapfrogged into sixth place. A Chicago loss to Portland will help North Carolina’s chances of getting into the post-season but they’ll still need to collect all three points in their final match next Friday at San Diego to solidify their position above the red line.
Final Notes
- Debinha’s hat trick is the first for the Courage since Lynn Williams bagged three in September 2019. She is currently tied for second (with Sophia Smith) in the Golden Boot race with 12 goals.
- It’s not only Debinha who has found a new level of play. Her North Carolina teammates have been on the rise since mid-August, after a frustrating loss at home to Kansas City that saw the Courage give up the lead three times. They’ve been 7-2-0 since then, racking up 24 goals and giving up only seven with five clean sheets.
Lineups
North Carolina Courage: C. Murphy, C. Pickett (M. Mathias 84’), A. Erceg©, K. Kurtz R. Williams; D. O’Sullivan (M. Berkely 84’), B. Pinto (M. Speck 83’), Fuka, Debinha (R. Baisden 84’); T. Boade, D. Ordóñez (R. Madsen 76’)
NJ/NY Gotham FC: M. Betos; T. Smith (I. Onumonu 66’), M. Freeman, E. Johnson, I. Dorsey, J. Bike (E. Jean 46’); M. Zerboni© (A. Krieger 46’), T. Torres, K. Mewis; V. Pickett (N. Kawasumi 46’), M. Purce (P. Monaghan 78’)
Score:
North Carolina Courage: 3
NJ/NY Gotham FC: 0
Goals:
North Carolina Courage: Debinha (C. Pickett) 27’; Debinha (R. Williams) 34’; Debinha (T. Boade) 81’
NJ/NY Gotham FC: none
Discipline:
North Carolina Courage: D. O’Sullivan (YC) 8’
NJ/NY Gotham FC: T. Torres (YC) 32’
Attendance: 6,376
