NWSL North Carolina Courage

NC Courage Fall Short of NJ/NY Gotham FC in Last Home Match of the Season

Published on October 17, 2021 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
North Carolina Courage News Release


CARY, NC - The North Carolina Courage fell to NJ/NY Gotham FC 3-0 on Sunday afternoon, two goals from Margaret Purce and an individual goal from Carli Lloyd being the deciding factor for Gotham in the match. Though the result was not in favor of the home side, the contest was highlighted by solid midfield performances from Debinha, Cari Roccaro, and Meredith Speck, as well as a celebration of Amy Rodriguez's 100th NWSL appearance, Merritt Mathias's 150th NWSL start, and Denise O'Sullivan's 100th NWSL appearance.

"In my opinion, I think [Gotham] had a 10-minute spell of momentum and put three goals in, and it happened really fast," said Cari Roccaro following the match. "When you're looking at the clock and it's 3-0, you have nothing to lose at that point and you have to just try and do anything to get a rhythm back, and we did our best. I thought there were times where we held our own and times where they picked us apart, so I think it was just a back and forth thing. It's definitely a good test, and Carli's just unbelievable. She's still got it."

"We started the game off strong, we came out and we knew this was a result we needed to get and we had a good game plan," said Casey Murphy. "Second half, things took a turn for the worst, and they got momentum and from there it was hard to get any sort of rhythm back and get back to the game plan that we had in mind. We're definitely disappointed with the result. As far as the standings, we've gotten to a place where some things are out of our control now, which you never want, but for us our focus has to remain on the last game in Portland."

Head Coach Sean Nahas echoed Roccaro and Murphy's thoughts, saying, "I felt we were okay in the first half, I thought we created some good chances and we settled into the game. Players did what was asked of them in terms of possession. Once they scored, you could just see we could never get back in. I always think there are positives, I look at the first half especially and I thought we had four really good chances, I felt we minimized errors and balanced out the game. Scoring goals has been hard to come by at the moment. I told the players after the game that we just have to keep processing everything and keep pushing, but one thing I will say is that the group never stopped battling and they never stopped competing. That's enough for me to take and build and bring into Portland."

After ending the half deadlocked at 0-0, it was Margaret Purce who finally broke the ice for the visitors. Following an unfortunate misclearance in the Courage box, Purce made the interception and was able to slip a shot past Casey Murphy at close range, giving Gotham the upper hand in the 54th minute. The forward added her second goal of the afternoon ten minutes later, capitalizing on a deflection to double Gotham's lead.

In her last appearance at Sahlen's Stadium before her retirement, Carli Lloyd collected her third goal of the season in the 67th minute, slotting a shot into the lower 90 and extending Gotham's lead to 3-0. Despite creating several near-scoring chances in the final minutes of the match, the North Carolina side fell short of their opponent as time expired. To conclude the regular season, the Courage will travel to Portland to face the Thorns next Saturday, October 30.

Match Notes:

- Merritt Mathias made her 150th NWSL start in today's match, making her the 4th player in league history to ever achieve such a milestone.

- Debinha was named the Budweiser Player of the Match for her performance.

- Amy Rodriguez recorded her 100th NWSL appearance during the match.

Up Next: The North Carolina Courage will travel to face the Portland Thorns on Saturday, October 30 at Providence Park in Portland, OR at 10 p.m. ET. The match will air live on Twitch.

Box Score:

NC (4-4-2): Casey Murphy, Kaleigh Kurtz, Carson Pickett (Ryan Williams - 88'), Abby Erceg ©, Merritt Mathias, Denise O'Sullivan (Angharad James - 71'), Debinha (Brittany Ratcliffe - 88'), Cari Roccaro, Meredith Speck (Amy Rodriguez - 62'), Lynn Williams, Jessica McDonald (Taylor Smith - 71')

Subs Not Used: Diane Caldwell, Lindsay Agnew, Kendall Fletcher, Rylee Baisden, Sam Murphy

NJ/NY (4-3-3): Kailen Sheridan, Imani Dorsey, Estelle Johnson (Mandy Freeman - 89'), Gina Lewandowski, Caprice Dydasco, Naho Kawasumi (Gaetane Thiney - 82'), Allie Long, McCall Zerboni, Carli Lloyd (Evelyn Viens - 89'), Ifeoma Onumnu (Elizabeth Eddy - 82'), Carli Lloyd, Margaret Purce (Paige Monaghan - 73')

Subs Not Used: Erica Skioski, Sodam Lee, DiDi Horacic, Domi Richardson

Score:

NC: 0

NJ/NY: 3

Goals:

NC: --

NJ/NY: Margaret Purce - 54', 65', Carli Lloyd - 67'

Cautions:

NC: Merritt Mathias - 45+2'

NJ/NY: Gaetane Thiney - 84'

Ejections:

NC: --

NJ/NY: --

Check out the North Carolina Courage Statistics

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