Washington Spirit 1 – 0 North Carolina Courage
WASHINGTON, DC— Just a week ago, North Carolina’s participation in the post-season was far from certain. They pulled off a hard-fought draw in Portland, but still needed help from the Washington Spirit. Ironically, their win over the Houston Dash not only boosted the Courage into the playoffs, but it set up a first-round showdown between the two clubs.
In the pre-game press conference, Lynn Williams talked about “playoff Courage” being different than “regular season Courage,” and that became apparent pretty quickly.
The first half was largely an end-to-end track meet, but North Carolina, powered by spark plugs Amy Rodriguez and Debinha, ginned up plenty of offense. By halftime, the Courage outpaced Washington in crossing (15-3), had outshot the Spirit 8-2 and dominated every offensive category.
Washington wasn’t without their scoring chances. In the middle of the first half, they went from deep in their back third all the way to the Courage 18-yard box in just four passes, forcing Casey Murphy into a diving save to preserve the shutout.
Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe was equal to the task, making three saves, including a big save in the 33rd minute to keep the visitors off the board.
But the Spirit would set a different tone in the second half, pressing the Courage even more through midfield and testing Casey Murphy, who would end up making 13 saves on the night. At the other end, Aubrey Bledsoe matched Murphy’s MVP-like performance, getting called on for 8 saves, though she got some help from the goalpost on a rocket of a shot from Debinha.
“How she’s not nominated for goalkeeper of the year is beyond me,” Courage interim coach Sean Nahas said after the game. “And Audrey Bledsoe is a brilliant goalkeeper too…[the]save she made on [Amy Rodriguez] is world class. I mean, that was entertaining football. And I said it before the game of the keepers were going to be the key piece in this whole thing.”
Both teams put on a spectacular show, battling to a goalless draw after 90 minutes. The run-and-shoot continued through both overtime periods, and it looked like the game was headed to penalty kicks when Trinity Rodman—who will very likely run away with the Rookie of th Year title—broke through on goal with a hard low shot that Murphy wasn’t able to corral. Ashley Hatch was in the right place at the right moment to bang home the opening goal of the game in the 113th minute.
The Courage mounted a furious comeback trying to level the score, but the final whistle blew minutes later. Washington advanced to the next round while North Carolina saw their season come to a close.
It was a disappointing end for the Courage, who seemed to have finally regained their footing—and found their voice—in this marathon 2021 NWSL season.
When asked about her takeaways from the last six weeks, Courage captain Abby Erceg summed it up, “I think it’s just been survival to be completely honest. It’s just been game to game week to week, I think it was always going to be a bit of a tall order for us. We all knew that. And we were just, we were just here to give it everything that we could and then, you know, go as far as we could.”
Amy Rodriguez voiced her team’s disappointment with the team’s result and exit from the playoffs. “The group is is devastated, obviously. With the type of experience and history that this team has this club has. We set a really high standard. And today we just didn’t meet it. And we’re all really bummed in that locker room.”
In his post-game remarks, North Carolina Interim Head Coach Sean Nahas talked about the entertaining football game he had just witnessed. “…an unbelievable football match. I just thought if you’re a fan of the game, and you didn’t enjoy that, then you shouldn’t be a fan of the game. But, I mean, I thought we were really good tonight. I thought we were so good.”
Nahas talked about the heavy emotional toll players across the NWSL paid, particularly over the last several weeks.
“You know, I think this wasn’t a season about football, this was a season about it can’t unfortunately came down to a season of emotions and mentality and things thrown on these players that should never have been thrown on them. And I say that across the league, not just our players where we happen to be ground zero. But you know, these players in this league, I’m you know, I’m proud to be a part of the league. I’m proud of the players in the league and what they’re what they’re fighting for.”
“As we’re, as we’re walking off, all the Spirit fans were thanking us and cheering us on. And that to me, sums it up. Everyone knows what we’ve gone through. And, you know, the fact that people saw us perform the way we did, and put a smile on people’s faces and our players being able to leave their head high…but, you know, to have opposition fans thanking us and cheering us and that, to me, sums it up and shows the level of character of this group, and shows the respect that they’ve earned across the league.”
Final Notes
- One of the standout players for the North Carolina Courage this season was centerback Kaleigh Kurtz. Both Abby Erceg and Sean Nahas had nothing but praise for Kurtz. “…at the beginning of the season, we were sort of all over the place you know, with formations and changing players and KK took it by the scruff of the neck and made it her own you know, and I think that is a credit to her,” said Nahas. Erceg echoed her coach’s sentiment: “I can’t say enough good things about KK I think, this year, the shoes that she had to step in and fill, obviously, with [Abby Dahlkemper] leaving, were huge. And I think she was up to the task. I think she’s had her really, really good yet a bit of a breakout year for her.”
- Spirit midfielder Tori Huster went down in the second half with a non-contact injury. She had subbed in at the beginning of the second half and had made an impact for Washington before getting injured and being helped off the field. Interim head coach Kris Ward didn’t have an update on her status after the game.
- Courage defender Carson Picket, who also had an outstanding first year in North Carolina, was nominated for the NWSL Defender of the Year.
- Next up for the Courage is…rest, recuperation, and reflection on the 2021 season.
- Next up for the Washington Spirit is a trip to Tacoma, WA to take on OL Reign in the next round of the NWSL playoffs.
Lineups
North Carolina Courage: C. Murphy; K. Kurtz, C. Pickett, A. Erceg©, M. Mathias (R. Williams 119’); C. Roccaro (A. James 105’), D. O’Sullivan, Debinha; L. Williams, A. Rodriguez (M. Speck 77’), J. McDonald (T. Smith 105’)
Washington Spirit: A. Bledsoe; S. Staab, K. O’Hara, E. Sonnett, T. McGrady (J. Roddar 70’); A. Sullivan ©, D. Bailey (P. Nielsen 115’), T. Aylmer (T. Huster 46’/A. Heilferty 98’); T. Rodman (S. Takarada 118’), A. Sanchez (T. McKeown 70’), A. Hatch
Score:
North Carolina Courage: 0
Washington Spirit: 1
Goals:
North Carolina Courage: none
Washington Spirit: A. Hatch (113’ unassisted)
Discipline:
North Carolina Courage: none
Washington Spirit: none
Attendance: 5,379
