NWSL North Carolina Courage

North Carolina Courage Fall for First Time in 330 Days

Published on May 12, 2019 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
North Carolina Courage News Release


Chicago - The North Carolina Courage's undefeated streak was snapped after losing 3-1 to the Chicago Red Stars. Lynn Williams scored the Courage's only goal with an assist from Merritt Mathias. Katelyn Rowland and Cari Roccaro earned their first start of the 2019 season for the NC Courage in the match.

The first chance of the match came in the 8th minute when Kristen Hamilton led an NC Courage counter-attack after a Chicago corner kick. She played a through ball at midfield to Debinha who streaked forward before firing a shot that was saved by Chicago goalkeeper, Emily Boyd.

Sam Kerr scored first in the match. Kerr scored in the 13th minute from close range after the ball bounced off of Courage goalkeeper, Katelyn Rowland.

Abby Erceg came knocking on the door in the 32nd minute. Zerboni played a long ball to Erceg who headed it towards the net. The ball barely missed the goal and hit the post. One minute later, Lynn Williams scored on a ball played in by defender Merritt Mathias. Williams volleyed the ball in for her third goal of the season.

Chicago countered in the 40th minute. Michele Vasconcelos shot the ball in the middle of a swarm of Courage players finding the very corner of the net.

Just minutes later, the Courage nearly scored again after the ball ricocheted in the box off Chicago defenders, the post, and then Boyd before being cleared by Kerr. The Courage went into halftime trailing for the first time since playing Chicago in the first game of the season on April 13.

After a slow start to the second half, Debinha raced through the Red Stars defensive line in the 72nd minute causing havoc and forcing a diving save from Boyd. Another chance came in the 80th minute when Jaelene Hinkle sent in a high flying ball that caused Boyd to make a save while backing up.

Sam Kerr put the game away three minutes into second half stoppage time. Kerr blasted the ball high into the net out of Rowland's reach. The loss marks the NC Courage's first defeat since June 2018.

Up Next: The NC Courage return to Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park to take on Utah Royals FC on Sunday, May 19 at 7:00 p.m.

Notes:

Lynn Williams scored her third goal of the season and is tied for the second most goals in the league.

Crystal Dunn remains atop of the NWSL leaderboard with four goals on the season, despite missing the last two games while on international duty.

Merritt Mathias earned her first assist of the season.

The loss is the NC Courage's first loss since June 16, 2018, against the Utah Royals.

Box Score:

CHI (4-4-2): Emily Boyd; Casey Short, Katie Naughton, Sarah Gorden, Arin Wright; Nikki Stanton, Danielle Colaprico, Vanessa DiBernardo ©, Michele Vasconcelos (Maria Sanchez, 65'); Yuki Nagasato, Sam Kerr

Subs not used: Brook Elby, Hannah Davison, Kayla Sharples, Jenna Szczesny, Zoey Goralski, AJ Jahansouz

NCC (4-4-2 Box): Katelyn Rowland; Jaelene Hinkle, Abby Erceg ©, Cari Roccaro, Merritt Mathias; McCall Zerboni, Denise O'Sullivan, Kristen Hamilton (Ryan Williams, 76'), Debinha; Lynn Williams, Julia Spetsmark (Leah Pruitt, 58')

Subs not used: Sam Leshnak, Elizabeth Eddy, Heather O'Reilly, Kaleigh Kurtz, Meredith Speck

Score:

CHI: 3

NCC: 1

Goals:

CHI: Sam Kerr (Yuki Nagasato,13'), Michele Vasconcelos (Sam Kerr, 40'), Sam Kerr (90+3')

NCC: Lynn Williams (Merritt Mathias, 33')

Cautions:

CHI: Nikki Stanton (Yellow card, 72')

NCC: Leah Pruitt (Yellow Card, 80')

Ejections:

CHI: --

NCC: --

Check out the North Carolina Courage Statistics

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National Women's Soccer League Stories from May 12, 2019


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