North Carolina Courage 1 – 2 Orlando Pride
Cary, NC—From chaos comes opportunity. And the last 12 days have been chaotic for the North Carolina Courage.
Dealing with a COVID-19-depleted roster, the Courage reserves were pressed into duty Wednesday against the visiting Orlando Pride. It marked North Carolina’s first game since winning the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup on Saturday, May 7. They were scheduled to resume regular season play last weekend at Gotham. However, the game was postponed following COVID outbreaks in both clubs.
Stalwarts, including captain Abby Erceg and goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland, remained out of Wednesday’s game due to COVID protocol, while Merritt Mathias was out due to an undisclosed illness.
Orlando came out putting pressure on North Carolina’s midfield, which earned the Pride an early lead. Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy, in her first start, made the initial save on Abi Kim’s shot, but the ball rebounded right to the feet of Sydney Leroux, who banked the ball in off the far post to make it 1-0 for the visitors.
With many Courage players seeing their first start and pressed into unfamiliar roles, the first 25 minutes were filled with nervy moments. Once they settled into the game, though, they began to work well off of Debinha and found some opportunities on the attack.
But just as North Carolina was starting to find a rhythm late in the first half, Orlando would capitalize on another rebound in front of the Courage goal. With Courage and Pride players chasing the ball to the end line, Julie Doyle tapped the ball back to Leroux, sitting at the top of the six-yard box. Her shot attempt bounced off a Courage defender as Murphy went to ground to attempt a block.
Orlando midfielder Mikayla Cluff ran up on the loose ball and, with Murphy scrambling to get back in position, hit a ground ball from the penalty spot that the Courage keeper couldn’t reach.
Staring down a two-goal deficit at halftime, Nahas brought Carson Pickett into the game for Taylor Smith, moving Jaelene Daniels up top with Diana Ordoñez and playing Pickett at left back. Havana Solaun made her first appearance of the season, replacing Jorian Baucom in midfield.
“We made the changes, and we made a change in the formation a little bit, just to put a little bit more pressure on [Orlando],” Nahas said in his post-game press conference.
Later in the second half, Solaun went down and was tended to by the training staff. She resumed play but was replaced late in the game by Brianna Pinto. Along with late-game subs Brittany Ratcliffe and Denise O’Sullivan, the Courage mounted a tenacious comeback in the last 15 minutes of the game.
North Carolina pulled a goal back in the 86th minute on Pinto’s first regular season goal. An initial shot from the former UNC Tar Heel rebounded out to Ryan Williams at midfield. Williams found Pinto at the top of the 18-yard box, and she turned her defender around and opened some space for a shot that beat Orlando goalkeeper Erin McLeod near post.
Pinto described her goal after the game. “I was on the right side of the field and I got the ball from Ryan and I knew I didn’t have a ton of space to go to my left and take [the]endline, so I spun inside and I shot it in and it got deflected onto the goal. I was actually looking to shoot it back post but it happened to work out, so I was happy about that.”
There was no time for celebration, though, as the Courage quickly reset the ball at midfield. North Carolina continued to press the Pride defense and had two stoppage-time goals called back for offside.
“I think the fight in this team is incredible,” said Carson Pickett after the game. “To be able to come back from down 2-0 to ate least get a goal back, AND [I] might add, potentially two other ones.” Pickett held back on further commentary on the two disallowed goals before continuing.
“But I think that just shows the grit of this team. And that’s what this culture is built on. This club’s built on grit and fight and tenacity, and that’s what the girls, what we all showed tonight.”
Last words from Nahas: “The last 10 days have been tough. The way the players stepped up, playing out of position, not ideal, competed, you know, not familiar with their roles and responsibilities and…they kept us in the game.
But we gave ourselves a chance and, you know, to have two [goals]called back on offsides—you know, onside, offside, I have no idea—but we gave ourselves those opportunities, and that’s really all that matters. So, they showed a lot of character, a lot of fight, a lot of grit, a lot of who we are.”
Final Notes
- With her substitution in the second half, North Carolina Courage defender Carson Pickett marked her 100th NWSL appearance
- Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy made her first appearance in the 2022 season. She had been rehabbing an injury suffered at the beginning of training camp.
- As if North Carolina’s MASH unit wasn’t already crowded, the Courage are without Brazilian player Kerolin Nicoli, who suffered an ankle injury following a tackle by Sam Staab in the Challenge Cup Final. Also unavailable were Kiki Pickett and Emily Gray with knee issues, and Katie Bowen and Tess Boade remaining out under COVID protocol.
- Next up for the North Carolina Courage is a Sunday matinee match against the San Diego Wave. It’s North Carolina’s first-ever contest with the expansion club. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. EDT and will be streamed on Paramount+.
Lineups
North Carolina Courage: C. Murphy; K. Kurtz, M. Berkely, R. Williams, J. Baucom (H. Solaun 46’/B. Pinto 75’); M. Speck© (B. Ratcliffe 72’), J. Daniels, R. Baisden (D. O’Sullivan 54’), Debinha; T. Smith (C. Pickett 46’), D. Ordoñez
Orlando Pride: E. McLeod©; K. Strom, M. Montefusco, C. Lawrence, Celia; V. Villacorta (A. James 46’), M. Cluff (L. Pruitt 61’), J. Listro, J. Doyle (K. Abello 45+1’/C. Petersen 89’)); S. Leroux, A. Kim (D. Jenkins 46’)
Score:
North Carolina Courage: 1
Orlando Pride: 2
Goals:
North Carolina Courage: B. Pinto 86’ (R. Williams)
Orlando Pride: S. Leroux 4’ (unassisted) M. Cluff 44’ (unassisted)
Discipline
North Carolina Courage: none
Orlando Pride: D. Jenkins (YC 73’)
