Courage Wins, Secures Home Field For Playoffs
Published on August 7, 2002 under Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
Carolina Courage News Release
Uniondale, N.Y. (August 7, 2002) A goal each from Birgit Prinz and Danielle Fotopoulos paced the Carolina Courage (12-5-3, 39 pts) past the New York Power (3-16-1, 10 pts) on Wednesday night at Mitchel Athletic Complex. Tammy Pearman notched her fourth goal of the season for the Power.
New York, playing for pride, came out strong and played an inspired first half. Carolina weathered the storm for 45 minutes and went to the locker room deadlocked at 0-0. The Power controlled play throughout the first half, out-shooting the Courage 8-2.
Courage goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill was sharp, parrying two Power free kicks in the first twenty minutes. The second was the most dangerous and drew a diving stab from Luckenbill who forced the ball up and off the crossbar. Ronnie Fair charged onto the loose ball, but drove it over the goal.
Following the break, the Courage had a terrific opportunity to take the lead five minutes into the second half. Danielle Fotopoulos and Hege Riise combined to release Birgit Prinz in the Power penalty box. Alone against the goalkeeper, Prinz pushed the ball to the right of Gao Hong, but the Chinese keeper leapt quickly to snare the shot.
Minutes later, Prinz volleyed home a Danielle Fotopoulos cross from 12 yards, but she was ruled to be offside.
The pace of the second half was frenetic, with both teams racing end to end.
In one sequence, the Power fired three rapid fires shots on the Courage goal, but was denied by two goal line blocks, before Luckenbill finally corralled the third attempt.
In the 65th minute, following an empty net scramble, Courage midfielder Meghan Anderson sent a shot sailing toward the goal. Jaclyn Raveia, who played last season for the Courage, ran across the goalmouth and flicked the ball out of danger with her head.
Finally, in the 67th minute, the Courage broke through. Anderson intercepted a pass out of the back and dropped it to Riise. The Norwegian midfielder sprayed the ball wide to teammate Danielle Fotopoulos, who took a couple of touches and served the ball across the penalty area. German striker Birgit Prinz rose up and nodded the ball in from six yards out.
"(Fotopoulos) did a good job to get the ball inside and I had no other chance but to use my head to score," said Prinz, describing her goal. "It is my job to score goals."
The goal, her 12th of the season, extended Prinz's goal scoring streak to three games.
Fotopoulos doubled the Courage lead fifteen minutes later. Strong on the ball, Fotopoulos carved her way through three New York defenders and drilled a shot past Gao Hong. It was Fotopoulos' 11th tally of the year. She also has a three-game goal-scoring streak.
New York was not going to go down without a fight, and pulled a goal back in the 89th minute. Tammy Pearman out jumped a Carolina defender and headed a Tiffeny Milbrett free kick past Luckenbill into the Courage goal.
Unfortunately, time was not on the Power's side. The Courage held on through three minutes of added time to earn the win.
Following the match, Head Coach Marcia McDermott praised her goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill.
"She's an extraordinary shot-stopper. She cuts her angle well, she holds on to the ball extraordinarily well. Sometimes it's uncanny her ability to know where the ball is going. I think she's big time, and perhaps something we count on a little too much. Certainly she gives our team confidence."
The victory propels the Courage into a tie for first place with Philadelphia, who drew 1-1 with San Diego.
More importantly, the Courage secured home field advantage in the playoffs. Carolina will host one of the semifinal matches on August 17th at SAS Stadium in Cary, NC. The Courage's opponent on that day has yet to be determined.
"Our goal is not just to make the playoffs, our goal is to do well in the playoffs. And I can't say enough about how important it is not to be packing our bags," explained Coach McDermott.
"We think we have an extraordinary place to train in and a great place to play our games in, and we love our fans. There's nothing like having all your fans behind you when you're competing in a really difficult game."
Playoffs tickets for the August 17th semifinal match can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (919) 834-4000. Tickets may also be purchased at the box office at SAS Stadium Monday through Friday, beginning this Friday, August 9th from 10 am to 6 pm.
Women's United Soccer Association Stories from August 7, 2002
- Courage Wins, Secures Home Field For Playoffs - Carolina Courage
- Spirit Defeat Beat, 1-0, on Foudy Goal from - San Diego Spirit
- Beat Falls 1-0 to Spirit; Needs One Point to Clinch Playoff Berth - Atlanta Beat
- Late Goal Leads Charge to Tie - Philadelphia Charge
- Foudy's Goal Defeats Beat - WUSA
- Courage Season Finale To Air On Fox Sports Net - Carolina Courage
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