Carli Lloyd and Samantha Mewis fighting for possession. Photo credits by Charlotte Thomas.
Hoping to mix things up, Sky Blue FC head coach Denise Reddy changes up her backline for the first time this season. Although the offense started stronger than usual, the lack of finishes and defensive mistakes gave North Carolina Courage the upper hand. Sky Blue tried to come back late but finished the game 2-1 in favor of the Courage.
Although Sky Blue FC have yet to win a game, there’s clear progress from one game to the next and it’s only a matter of time before they garner their first win. Sky Blue made some clear improvements, biggest of all was the strong start that they lacked in the past two weeks. Unlike previous weeks, Sky Blue started the game off aggressively, with Shea Groom hitting a laser of a shot. It was blocked by Katelyn Rowland, but it resulted in Sky Blue getting the game’s first corner and was overall very positive play. Unfortunately, Sky Blue has yet to find the right formula to continue strong, positive, and aggressive plays like this throughout the game. Like earlier games, they finished stronger than they started, showing the possibility for Sky Blue FC to be a winning team despite a lackluster start to the season.
Amanda Frisbie and Crystal Dunn. Photo credits by Charlotte Thomas.
North Carolina Courage showed, like Seattle and Houston did last week, that all it takes to beat this Sky Blue team as they are now is an aggressive offense. For 90 minutes, Courage relentlessly attacked Sky Blue’s backline. They played strong, attacking soccer and they deserved to win.
The first goal occurred at the 16th minute when Courage’s Denise O’Sullivan forced Shea Groom to retreat 30 yards to midfield. Groom was finally stripped of the ball by Debinha who released Jessica McDonald on the right wing. McDonald took the ball down to the 18-yard box, sending the ball into a sliding Crystal Dunn. Dunn pushed the ball across the face of the goal, past Sky Blue goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, and into the back of the net.
Then, in the 27th minute, another dispossession lead to a North Carolina goal. Sarah Killion lost the ball to North Carolina’s McCall Zerboni who released to Dunn. Dunn took a few touches, drawing in Sky Blue defenders Amanda Frisbie and Mandy Freeman, which left both Debinha and Jaelene Hinkle wide open. Dunn choose to release to Debinha who sent a low cross across goal. Despite being close to the goal, Sheridan was unable to touch it and Frisbie was unable to clear it. Instead, Courage’s Samantha Mewis was able to push it through.
Katelyn Rowland’s foul on Savannah McCaskill. Photo credits by Charlotte Thomas.
For the next 65 minute, neither team would score any goals, which is not to say that either team got lazy. In fact, all 90 minutes were exciting and action-packed. In the 71st minute, after a set-piece in which Sky Blue substitute Raquel Rodriguez tapped the ball in play for Carli Lloyd, Lloyd attempted to take the ball to the end line where Zerboni took her down in the box. The referee pointed to the spot: penalty kick. Lloyd was up to take it, sending a rocket to Rowland’s right. Unfortunately for Lloyd, her shot wasn’t tucked into the corner and Rowland guessed right, parrying the ball away from goal, where Rodriguez was ready on the rebound. Rowland’s reaction time was too good for Sky Blue as she deflected the shot away for a corner.
The foul on Lloyd that generated a PK. Photo credits by Charlotte Thomas.
The last goal of the game was in the last minute of stoppage time. During Sky Blue’s last offensive play, both Sky Blue’s Savannah McCaskill and North Carolina’s Kristen Hamilton collide for the ball. McCaskill had the first touch so the free-kick went Sky Blue’s way. Much like Sky Blue’s last free-kick, three women stood over the ball. Rodriguez played it into Killion who settled the ball for Lloyd, who hits a stunner into the upper 90 of the far post, scoring her first goal for Sky Blue since 2013.
By the end of the first half, Courage outshot Sky Blue 16 to 3. All of Sky Blue’s shots were within the first fifteen minutes, which shows that when they move the ball forward with purpose, Sky Blue can be a dangerous team. But soon after their start, Sky Blue died out, letting North Carolina take control of the game. Sky Blue is beginning to find their footing, if they continue to start games aggressively they will get the win they’ve been looking for. The key to the next game has to be to outshoot Washington Spirit in the first half.
