North Carolina Courage 3–3 Washington Spirit
Cary, NC— Wild is becoming the norm between the North Carolina Courage and the Washington Spirit.
In their last meeting back on June 11th, center back Kaleigh Kurtz had the stoppage time winner in a back-and-forth thriller. Saturday night’s matchup picked up where their previous contest left off.
Between the international break and another postponed game due to Covid, the Courage had a 19-day break since their 2-2 draw in Chicago on July 10. They arrived back at WakeMed Soccer Park tanned, rested, and ready to get the season back on track.
Following a pre-game Pride Night celebration that included an all-women skydiving team, the two teams kicked off.
With Merritt Mathias out of the lineup on Covid protocol, Ryan Williams stepped in. Williams had the unenviable assignment of containing Trinity Rodman. Despite Rodman scoring a brace, Williams held her own in several one-on-one battles throughout the evening.
Just as both teams were getting a feel for the game, a weather system settled over Sahlen’s Stadium, causing a lightning delay of about an hour. Once the light show had moved off to the east, the teams took the field to resume the first half.
It was Rodman—who else?—who opened the scoring in the 42nd minute. The play started with Amber Brooks rocking Diana Ordoñez with a slide tackle in the Courage defensive end. Tara McKeown, who also put in a solid performance, continued the combination play pushing the ball to Ashley Sanchez, who tapped it into the path of an onrushing Rodman. With goalkeeper Casey Murphy coming out to challenge, Rodman slammed the ball near post to make it 1-0 for the visitors.
But North Carolina wasted no time answering the challenge.
Denise O’Sullivan picked up a pass just outside the center circle and immediately forwarded it to Brittany Ratcliffe. The forward, who has stepped up in the absence of Brazilian striker Kerolin Nicoli, continued her scoring streak. With Spirit defenders Kelley O’Hara and Sam Staab draped over her, she muscled past them and found the seam beating Aubrey Kingsbury in the 44th minute.
“I love Sully [O’Sullivan]!” Ratcliffe said after the game. “I talk about Sully like to everyone and I’m like, she’s so good, she’s so good. And when she played that ball, I was like, I have to score this for Sully, you know, but just a perfectly weighted ball just. And it went in. And I just, I don’t even know my celebration, I just remember like screaming like, extremely loud.”
Ah, but not only was this a Courage/Spirit matchup, viewers were also treated to classic #NWSLAfterDark. Just a minute into first-half stoppage time, O’Hara delivered a long ball into the 18-yard that Murphy came out to collect, but McKeown flicked a backward header out of Murphy’s outstretched arms to send Washington to the locker room up 2-1 at halftime.
If that wasn’t wild enough for you, there was a whole 45 minutes left to play.
In the 53rd minute, Meredith Speck sprinted in and intercepted a poor pass out of the back from Kingsbury. Nearing the endline, she passed the ball around Staab, which was just out of Kingsbury’s reach. Ordoñez was on the doorstep to tap the ball securely into the net to even the score once again.
The Spirit retook the lead just a couple of minutes later, this time with Ashley Sanchez lofting the ball into space for Rodman. The reigning Rookie of the Year turned Kurtz around at the edge of the penalty area, and even though Murphy had a bead on the shot, Rodman found the seam once again to put her team in front for the third time.
Of course, it’s not a Courage-Spirit matchup without a little controversy, and that came in the 60th minute. Carson Pickett sent a long ball into the Washington penalty area. O’Sullivan beat Rodman at the far edge of the box, but the referee blew his whistle to stop play and immediately pointed at the penalty spot.
He appeared to explain to a furious Spirit defense that the call was on Staab, who shoved Ratcliffe to the pitch, even though the infraction occurred off the ball.
While the arguing played out, Ordoñez lined up for the spot kick. When the whistle blew, she placed a well-taken kick in the lower left corner to pull the Courage level once again.
Late in stoppage time, it looked like Jorian Baucom might put North Carolina over the top. Pickett again sent a perfectly weighted cross into the box and Baucom hit it with a near-perfect flick header that stretched Kingsbury to her limit but clanged off the crossbar.
The game ended with six goals, a brace each for Trinity Rodman and Diana Ordoñez, Washington surrendering the lead three times, and plenty for fans to talk about on and off the field on the way home.
“I was proud of the character of the group tonight,” said head coach Sean Nahas in his post-game remarks. “You know, to go down, one nothing equalize, go down again shortly after equalize go down. You know, the character of the group and the way they fought through it and persevered, I felt was was fantastic. I think it’s a tribute to them. And their continued commitment.”
Nahas also had praise for Williams’ performance against Rodman. “Ryan had a tough assignment. And I think any player that plays against Trinity has a tough assignment, especially for a player that plays in the left and likes to come inside. Ryan’s ability to recover, Ryan’s ability to withstand long minutes, I felt was an important piece to sustain. So I was happy with how she stepped in and helped the group.”
Final Notes
• It had been nearly six weeks since the North Carolina Courage last took the field at WakeMed Soccer Park and 19 days since their last game, a 2-2 draw in Chicago.
• Center back and team captain Abby Erceg was honored after the game for making over 100 appearances for the North Carolina Courage (and Western New York Flash).
• The evening wasn’t without controversy as it was announced earlier in the afternoon that Jaelene Daniels would not suit up for the game. The Courage were celebrating Pride Night and Daniels refused to wear the rainbow warmup and game kits.
• Next up for North Carolina is a trip to the Rose City on August 5 as they face the Portland Thorns at Providence Park.
Lineups
North Carolina Courage: C. Murphy; C. Pickett, A. Erceg©, K. Kurtz, R. Williams; D. O’Sullivan, M. Berkely, B. Pinto (F. Tagliaferri 76’), M. Speck; B. Ratcliffe (K. Pickett 76’), D. Ordoñez (J. Baucom 82’)
Washington Spirit: A. Bledsoe; S. Staab, K. O’Hara, A. Heilferty (T. Aylmer 75’), A. Brooks; J. Baggett (B. Feist 62’), A. Sullivan©, D. Bailey; T. Rodman, T. McKeown, A. Sanchez
Score:
North Carolina Courage: 3
Washington Spirit: 3
Goals:
North Carolina Courage: B. Ratcliffe (D. O’Sullivan) 45’; D. Ordoñez (M. Speck) 3’; D. Ordoñez (PK) 62’
Washington Spirit: T. Rodman (A. Sanchez) 42’; T. McKeown (K. O’Hara) 45+1’; T. Rodman (unassisted) 56’
Discipline
North Carolina Courage: None
Washington Spirit: D. Bailey (YC 29’)
Attendance: 3,568
