Williams, Debinha Lift Courage to 2-0 Win Over Reign FC

North Carolina Courage 2 – 0 Reign FC

Cary, NC—On a steamy Saturday afternoon North Carolina Courage head coach Paul Riley was in his office getting ready for the game against Reign FC when, all of a sudden, he heard screaming coming from the locker room. It turns out the Courage had unexpected visitors as Abby Dahlkemper, Jessica McDonald and Sam Mewis returned from the World Cup and a week of festivities to support their teammates and get right back to work.

The excitement of having their teammates back in the fold, along with a lineup that has found its form over the last three weeks, lifted the Courage to a 2-0 victory over Reign FC.

With the win, North Carolina leapfrogged over Reign FC into first place and breaking their eight-game unbeaten streak.

The visitors absorbed early pressure from the Courage and, as they adjusted to the heat and got their feet under them, made some penetrating plays inside North Carolina’s final third. Beverly Yanez nearly got Reign on the board in the 19^th  minute when she took advantage of an apparent miscue in the Courage defense but her shot was blocked by Abby Erceg. Moments later Yanez had an open look at goal but her shot sailed over the crossbar.

But it would be the Courage striking first in the 22^nd  minute on a buildup out of the defensive end. Midfielder Denise O’Sullivan got the ball at the center circle and with her second touch put it right into the stride of Kristen Hamilton. Her one-touch pass found Lynn Williams at the top of the penalty area who pushed the ball slightly wide, drawing Reign goalkeeper Casey Murphy over, then slotting the ball past her into the net.

The Reign nearly drew even in first half stoppage when the Courage defense had trouble clearing the ball out of the penalty area. Maegan Kelly settled the ball and sent it back to Steph Catley whose laser sliced off of the crossbar and bounced outside of the goal.

For the Reign, it would have been nice if being down 1-0 was their biggest problem at halftime. Unfortunately for this injury-wracked side, they had to substitute Shea Groom, Bev Yanez, and Celia Jiménez due to injury before the whistle blew to start the second half.

Murphy did a remarkable job keeping her club in the game early in the second half when it looked like Hamilton and Williams were about to team up to double the lead. But this time Murphy was able to stop Williams’ attempt to slot the ball through and held on.

The Courage would get their second score of the game in their classic, straight-out-of-the-training-ground fashion. McCall Zerboni found Merritt Mathias on the wing. Mathias, whose strength on the flank generates so many scoring chances for North Carolina, one-timed the ball toward the net. Debinha broke free of her defender and, in mid-leap, found just enough daylight to tap the ball past Murphy, who had the near post covered.

Reign FC withstood further pressure from North Carolina, who outshot the visitors 20-8. When the final whistle sounded, Stephanie Labbé—in her first game back after backstopping the Canadian Women’s National Team at the World Cup—had her third clean sheet of the season.

For the Courage, the journey through the World Cup started off shaky but, as players got used to going 70-90 minutes and partnerships like Hamilton-Williams blossomed, they have finished the World Cup with three strong wins. Riley now has the happy dilemma of how to re-integrate the national team players back into the lineup. “[Jessica McDonald] said, ‘I don’t even know how we get in the lineup, the way Lynn and Hammy are playing,’ so hat’s off they understand the game and they understand being a professional and it’s not going to be easy to get back in this lineup.

When he reflected on the appearance of the returning USWNT players in the locker room earlier he pointed to the character of the players on his squad. “They might lose their place here,” he said of the players who entered the starting lineup during the World Cup, “and they want them to be here. That’s what it means to the squad to have them here.”

Final Notes

• The Courage honored their seven World Cup players in a post-game ceremony. Goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé, defenders Abby Erceg and Abby Dahlkemper, midfielders Debinha, Crystal Dunn, and Sam Mewis, and forward Jessica McDonald.
• Overheard from Sam Mewis as the group gathered for photos: “I’m just glad we’re all back on the same team!”
• This was the first game back on the field for Courage captain Abby Erceg and goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé since returning from the World Cup. Erceg was injured in warmups at Washington two weeks ago and was held out of the lineup last weekend as a precaution.
• Forward Kristen Hamilton was named the NWSL Player of the Week following her four-goal performance against the Houston Dash. Hamilton was also named to the June Team of the Month.
• Reign FC’s good form over the last two months is even more impressive when you look at their injury report. Coming into the game they had ten players sidelined with injuries. After the match, head coach Vlatko Andonovski said goalkeeper Lydia Williams injured her ankle during the World Cup playing for Australia. She is expected to be out for at least two months.
• Next up for the Courage is a trip to Chicago to face the Red Stars next Saturday.

Lineups

North Carolina Courage: S. Labbé; J. Hinkle, A. Erceg ©, K. Kurtz, M. Mathias; Debinha (L. Milliet 90+), D. O’Sullivan, C. Roccaro (M. Speck, 80’), M. Zerboni; L. Williams, K. Hamilton (L. Pruitt, 76’)

Reign FC: C. Murphy; S. Catley, L. Barnes ©, M. Oyster, T. Nielsen; B. Yanez (A. Steiner, 45+’), C. Jiménez Delgado (K. McNabb, 46’), M. Proffitt; I. Onumonu, B. Balcer, S. Groom (M. Kelly, 41’)

Score:
North Carolina Courage: 2

Reign FC: 0

Goals:
North Carolina Courage: L. Williams (22’ K. Hamilton), Debinha (55’ M. Mathias)

Reign FC: none

Discipline
North Carolina Courage: O’Sullivan, YC 70’

Reign FC: B. Balcer, YC 88’

Attendance: 6,216

Photo gallery: North Carolina Courage vs Reign FC

All photos by Victoria Klum