Sarah Killion battles for possession.
There will be a battle for the top spot of the National Women’s Soccer League Wednesday night and Sky Blue FC will be smack dab in the middle of it.
The New Brunswick, New Jersey, based club currently ranking second in the standings travels to North Carolina to take on the league leading Courage Wednesday night (7:30, NWSLsoccer.com).
A win at WakeMed Soccer would bring Sky Blue to the top of the table for the first time this season and give the Jersey Girls a three-game winning streak for the first time since last July.
On the other end of the pitch, the Courage look to right the ship following a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Red Stars last weekend. The result pushed the club’s skid to 3 matches, a winless streak that halted the momentum of a 4-game winning streak that began their season.
The meeting will be the eighth between the clubs but it will be the first meeting held in North Carolina — the Courage were based in Rochester, New York, and known as the Western New York Flash for its first three seasons in the NWSL.
“Wednesday evening’s match should be a very entertaining game,” said Sky Blue FC head coach Christy Holly in a press release. “Even with the quick turnaround, we feel that we have adequately prepared our team, and we look forward to squaring off against one of the very best clubs in the league. We feel that if we meet our potential, it will be a positive outcome for Sky Blue FC.”
The Blue are coming off a pair of wins on the LifeTime Game of the Week, both against the Houston Dash. After defeating the Dash 3-1 at BBVA Compass Stadium, Sky Blue needed a late-winner from Raquel Rodriguez in the 84th minute to seal a 2-1 win.
It would be the club’s 10th goal of the season, the highest tally among the NWSL’s 10 members through six matches, with North Carolina coming in second with 8.
Half of the goals have come from Sarah Killion, who notched her fifth goal of the season to open the scoring at Yurcak Field against the Dash last Saturday. The goal came from the penalty spot, where the no. 2 pick in the 2015 NWSL College Draft has scored 4 of her 5 goals.
If Killion’s hot streak continues in Cary, the Jersey Girls may very well be on their way to first place in the league.
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