North Carolina Courage 2 – 2 Washington Spirit
Cary, NC—With a semifinal berth on the line, the Eastern Division-leading North Carolina Courage squared up with the Washington Spirit Saturday afternoon at WakeMed Soccer Park. A win or draw against the Spirit would see the Courage through to the playoff round, while the Spirit needed a win to get in or help from Angel City FC to continue their 2022 Challenge Cup run.
You couldn’t ask for a more perfect afternoon or matchup for a nationally televised game. In their previous match on March 30th, North Carolina jumped to an early 2-0 lead only to have Washington battle back to make it a 2-2 draw.
Head coach Sean Nahas’ squad got off to a hot start in the Challenge Cup, racking up two wins to jump to the top of the table. A week ago, the Courage set a record, getting three goals in nine minutes before holding off Orlando 4-2. Even though they lead the East, Nahas and his team looked to put together a consistent 90-minute performance going into the Saturday matinee.
Getting her first start since joining the Courage a couple of weeks ago, Kerolin Nicoli was a crossbar away from opening the scoring for North Carolina. The Courage won a corner kick in the game’s second minute. The ball found its way to Kerolin at the opposite corner of the 18-yard box. The Brazilian got her body well behind the ball and sent a looping shot headed for the top corner, but it clanged off the crossbar.
That was just a taste of the trouble Kerolin would cause the Spirit defense.
But first, the Courage would have to battle back after falling behind 1-0 in the 15th minute. Washington’s physical play appeared to be giving North Carolina some problems throughout the first half. When Courage goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland rolled the ball toward Denise O’Sullivan, Spirit forward Ashley Hatch came from behind and dropped the Courage midfielder to the ground at the top of the penalty arc. Hatch wasted no movement, pushing the ball slightly ahead to set up her shot before beating Rowland with a line drive to the bottom corner.
For the first time in the Challenge Cup, the Courage were in the position of chasing the game, but North Carolina kept pressing for the equalizer. Captain Abby Erceg came close in the 26th minute with a strong header, but Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury positioned herself to make the big save.
In the final moments of the first half, Kerolin finally pestered the Washington defense into making a costly mistake. She was sprinting across the 18-yard box with the ball when Emily Sonnett gave the Courage forward a push, sending her to the ground. Referee Eric Tattersall immediately pointed to the penalty spot.
Having the hot foot in the Challenge Cup, Debinha lined up to take the penalty kick, and although Kingsbury guessed right, Debinha had enough on the shot to beat her and send the teams into halftime level at a goal apiece.
A few minutes into the second half, Courage midfielder Malia Berkely turned the Saturday matinee into showtime. After intercepting a poor pass out of the back from the Washington defense, Berkely took a couple of touches before launching an absolute banger that Kingsbury had no chance at.
Berkely took the media through her goal after the game. “I saw their center back was looking to play their midfielder. I knew I could jump on that pass, and I just think that I read it pretty well,” she said. “Since they were in a big attacking shape, I had that opening in the middle, and I had Taylor on the right if I need to. I knew that it was a great opportunity for a shot, and so I took it.”
It looked like Washington had the equalizer in the 56th minute when Hatch crossed the ball into the box. Under pressure, Rowland made a kick save but the ball bounced behind her heading toward the goal. Jaelene Daniels was there to make the goal-line save to preserve the Courage lead.
North Carolina had a chance to double their lead in the 72nd minute when Kerolin drew another penalty. Debinha put the penalty kick in roughly the same spot, but Kingsbury was able to make the diving save this time.
Penalties were plenty in this match. Two minutes later, Rowland came out to challenge Trinity Rodman and sent the Spirit player clattering to the ground. Hatch got enough on the penalty kick to beat Rowland.
The tie sent North Carolina through to the semifinal round of the Challenge Cup, with their opponent to be determined following the rest of the weekend matches.
Last words from Nahas: “Today we had to learn how to compete from being behind. We haven’t been behind all season, so the ability for us to have to fight back…get the PK call on a pretty good sequence, and then Malia’s absolute stunner of a strike…we made some changes at halftime and talked about a few things. But, you know, I’m really proud of the players; they deserve this. They put in the work, and sometimes you have to grind it out. But all credit goes to them.”
Final Notes
- By converting the first half penalty kick, Debinha is the first player to score in four consecutive Challenge Cup games.
- Washington Spirit defender Kelley O’Hara had to come out of the game in the 27th minute due to an injury.
- Malia Berkely’s goal was her first NWSL tally.
- Next up for the North Carolina Courage is a trip to Los Angeles as they open the NWSL regular season against Angel City FC on Friday, April 29th.
Lineups
North Carolina Courage: K. Rowland; K. Kurtz, A. Erceg ©, M. Mathias, M. Berkely (M. Speck 79’); D. O’Sullivan, J. Daniels, B. Pinto (K. Pickett 45’), Debinha (E. Gray 90’); T. Smith, K. Nicoli (D. Ordoñez 88’)
Washington Spirit: A. Kingsbury; K. O’Hara (M. Goff 27’), E. Sonnett, A. Brooks, C. Bielgalski; K. Rodriguez (B. Feist 60’), A. Sanchez, J. Roddar, T. Rodman, A. Heilferty (J. Baggett 80’); A. Hatch
Score:
North Carolina Courage: 2
Washington Spirit: 2
Goals:
North Carolina Courage: Debinha (45+3’ PK); M. Berkely 53’ (unassisted)
Washington Spirit: A. Hatch (15’ unassisted); A. Hatch (76’ PK)
Discipline North Carolina Courage: A. Erceg, YC 37’;
Washington Spirit: K. Rodriguez YC 19’;
