For numerous Western New York Flash (WNY Flash) fans, the change from being based in Elma, New York to Cary, North Carolina involved much adjusting. Since being founded in 2008, the team has undergone changes within this past year. WNY has now become transformed to the North Carolina Courage who kicked off the 2017 season with a new name. Meaning, new records, new endeavors, and a lot of “first” occurrences this year.
Head coach Paul Riley took over as the head coach in 2015 and led the team to victory as they became the 2016 NWSL Champions. Riley has followed through the changes as well and now leads the NC Courage to success for this season. North Carolina has been in first place for several consecutive weeks and currently has 33 points. Out of ten teams they have remained on top and have only allowed 13 goals in 16 games to make it past goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland, who has had success with six shutouts within this season. The Courage current game record is 11-5-0.
On Sunday, August 13th, the Courage face Seattle Reign at Memorial Stadium in Seattle and celebrated a 2-1 victory. In their previous two matches against Seattle for the season, they won with scores of 1-0 and 2-0 outcomes. In observing how these two teams play on the pitch, the downfall of the Courage is that in three games they only have shutout the Reign in a total of three goals and currently added two to the list as Seattle scored on them. In total, the goals are 5-1, which isn’t that much of an overlap. The same outcome follows with FC Kansas City as they also have been defeated by the Courage in two matches, with the same results as Seattle before their last. This either shows that Seattle Reign and Kansas City are a challenge for the Courage or that these two teams need to work just a bit harder to overcome North Carolina.
Having five losses in 16 games is a decent place to be, but those other 12 wins shouldn’t just be an easy last minute goal, a penalty kick goal advantage, or even a goal given by the other team. In being the first place team in standings, the Courage offense lacks in areas of finishing the ball and completing plays to bring success. They have the success of ranking first under strong leadership, but their finishes need to be solid to display that they are a challenging team to face, which would give the first place ranking proof that this team is actually the top team in the league.
Within this first year, the team has made remarkable records. Some key players that have contributed to the incredible play of the Courage include a few veterans with the immense skill of the performance of diligent goalkeeper. Forward Lynn Williams stands in fourth place in shots taken with 52 being made so far and in fifth for taking 22 shots on goal. Williams has also scored five goals this season, which is the most on the team. The Pepperdine University alum was selected by the WNY Flash at the 2015 NWSL College Draft and since then, has made much improvement and impact on the game.
This past May, forward Jessica McDonald broke a remarkable NWSL record and became the NWSL all-time lead scorer. Former Seattle Reign midfielder Kim Little had set the bar high in the league with 32 NWSL goals and McDonald was capable of creating league history by scoring her 33rd NWSL career goal. During Week four of the 2017 NWSL season, she gained possession of the rebound and scored off of it to give the Courage a 1-0 lead against the Boston Breakers. With her skill and knowledge of the game, McDonald adds energy and makes solid shots to advance the Courage with the help of her fellow teammates.
Goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland has significantly taken part in Roth Carolina’s success as she recently marked her sixth consecutive shutout. With the minute amount of goals being taken on them, Rowland’s performance has been completely focused on the offense that comes her way with the help of her prepared defense that includes Jaelene Hinkle, Abby Dahlkemper, Abby Erceg, Taylor Smith, and the rest of the backline that has their time to shine.
In total, the Courage as a whole stand in first place in records of having 224 shots with 95 being on the goal and 22 reaching the back of the net. For being a new team and having the same structure, but of course taking into he account of new players being added from the draft, waving players, and some recovering from injuries, Paul Riley has done a phenomenal job in disciplining his team in their format to be better athletes.
The North Carolina Courage will face the Washington Spirit this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET and can be viewed live from WakeMed Soccer Park on the go90 app.
