North Carolina Courage 0 – 1 Portland Thorns
HERRIMAN, UT – The Quarterfinal round began as the NWSL Challenge Cup tournament began, with the North Carolina Courage taking on the Portland Thorns. The result would be different this time around, though, thanks to the outstanding play of Portland goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom. She may have been number three on the Thorns’ goalkeeper depth chart, but she turned in arguably the best performance of the tournament between the pipes.
The two clubs were on opposite trajectories through the preliminary round of the tournament. The Courage dominated the first round, winning four games in a row, while winless Portland finished in eighth place, setting up the quarterfinal showdown.
North Carolina got after Portland right from the opening whistle when forward Lynn Williams got in deep near Portland’s goal, but no one was at the far post to collect her low cross. In the 6th minute, Williams carried the ball down the flank and cut inside, pulling the ball around Emily Menges but her shot went wide and high.
Taking nothing away from Eckerstrom’s performance, the lack of finish from the Courage would haunt them throughout the game. Especially on a day where so many things went wrong for Mark Parsons’ club.
Late in the first half, Portland defender Katherine Reynolds collided with Williams at the edge of the Portland penalty area. Williams retreated to the sidelines with a gash over her eye while Reynolds remained on the pitch for several minutes receiving treatment. While she was able to leave the field under her own power (with some assistance), Parsons was forced to make his first substitution, bringing on Christen Westphal in the 42nd minute.
Williams, however, appeared none the worse for wear. With a bandage over her eye, she took the ball straight in on goal, blasting a shot that beat Eckerstrom but pulled just off frame.
The rivals continued to trade trips up and down the field through nine minutes of stoppage time, but more trouble was looming for the Thorns. As stoppage time ticked to a close, Lindsey Horan went down with what appeared to be a leg injury. After a few moments of treatment, she was able to finish the first half.
Eckerstrom would come up huge again just before the halftime whistle when Crystal Dunn and Kristen Hamilton pulled together a nifty combination play in the penalty box. Hamilton cleared a space for a shot that the Portland keeper batted away. Portland’s defense smothered the rebound and the first half ended in a scoreless deadlock.
Horan was back on the pitch to start the second half but went down again just minutes after kickoff. Celeste Boureille came on in the 51st minute putting an end to Horan’s day and taking away one of Portland’s best targets on set plays.
The match stats heavily tilted toward North Carolina, who outshot the Thorns 21-10 and held a substantial advantage in possession (54.6% to 45.4%). But as long as Williams and Debinha stayed off the scoresheet, the door stayed open for Portland to pull off an upset.
The Thorns’ opportunity came in the 68th minute off of a defensive miscue from the Courage. Rocky Rodríguez played the ball across the penalty area to rookie Morgan Weaver, who snuck around North Carolina defender Addisyn Merrick. Courage goalkeeper With Merrick on the ground and Katelyn Rowland unable to get back across the goal quickly enough, Weaver had an easy tap in on the perfectly weighted pass giving Portland the lead.
It was an unfortunate error for Merrick, who otherwise had played terrific throughout the tournament, but Courage head coach Paul Riley is confident that the rookie—and the team—will come back from the loss stronger and wiser.
“[Merrick] had a fantastic tournament,” Riley said in his post-game remarks. “She’s more upset than anybody but she’ll get over it, we’ll all get over it and we’ll move on.”
Riley replaced Merrick in the 78th minute with rookie Hailie Mace. Mace had been playing at forward for the Courage but with their season ticking to an abrupt end, Riley wanted to generate more attacking from the back line.
North Carolina continued to press Portland through the final 10 minutes of the game with Debinha nearly leveling the game twice. In the 79th minute, Sam Mewis was tripped up just outside of the Portland penalty area leading to a dangerous set piece opportunity. Debinha ripped the free kick toward the upper 90 but Eckerstrom stretched and got her fingers on the ball, knocking it high and wide. Debinha and Williams teamed up for another scoring chance in the 83rd minute when the Brazilian nearly got her head on Williams’ cross.
Eighth-seed Portland held on for the upset win over the number one seed Courage. The celebration was brief, however. Parsons was already looking toward next Wednesday’s semifinal. “Obviously, this [win]means a lot, but we have to switch gears really quick,” he said.
Paul Riley was pleased with his club’s performance, particularly the deliveries into the 18-yard box. He lamented North Carolina’s inability to get on the end of those deliveries. “Sam whipped one [corner kick]in across the six-yard box, but there wasn’t a soul in sight. I don’t mind if you get one in and the goalkeeper makes a great save, but I feel like [Portland] got on the end of everything.”
So while Portland awaits their semifinal opponent, The North Carolina Courage will regroup and begin preparation for whatever comes next. That could be a post-tournament short season, or they may arrange their roster for the upcoming expansion draft and college draft and prepare for 2021.
Final notes
- Portland goalkeeper Bella Bixby, who was having a standout performance in the NWSL Challenge Cup, was out of the lineup due to an injury. Former Thorn’s goalkeeper and current assistant coach Nadine Angerer was an emergency pre-game signing as Eckerstrom’s backup keeper.
- Morgan Weaver’s goal is her first goal in the NWSL.
- Simone Charley, who entered the game with Boureille in the 51st minute, provided Portland with some additional attacking energy in the second half, which helped minimize North Carolina’s ability to press.
- Next up for Portland is a semifinal match next Wednesday. Opponent TBD.
Lineups
North Carolina Courage: K. Rowland; A. Merrick (H. Mace 78’), A. Dahlkemper, A. Erceg ©, J. Daniels; D. O’Sullivan, S. Mewis, C. Dunn; K. Hamilton (J. McDonald, 45’), L. Williams
Portland Thorns: B. Eckerstrom; K. Reynolds (C. Westphal, 42’), E. Menges, K. Hubly, M. Klingenberg (M. Pogarch, 82’); A. Salem, L. Horan (C. Boureielle, 51’), R. Rodríguez; C. Sinclair ©, T. Lussi (S. Charley, 51’), M. Weaver (G. Seiler, 82’)
Score
North Carolina Courage 0
Portland Thorns 1
Goals
North Carolina Courage: none
Portland Thorns: M. Weaver (68’, R. Rodríguez)
Discipline
North Carolina Courage: Debinha (YC, 52’); D. O’Sullivan (YC, 90+5’)
Portland Thorns: none
