Washington Spirit Tops North Carolina Courage

North Carolina Courage 1 - 2 Washington Spirit

CARY, NC— The North Carolina Courage and Washington Spirit squared off for the first time in the 2023 NWSL regular season.

It was a game dominated by the Courage, but the Spirit escaped WakeMed Soccer Park with all three points, thanks to a goal in the sixth minute from—who else?—Trinity Rodman and a rather questionable penalty awarded to Ashley Hatch just after halftime.

SNIPERS WANTED

Despite outshooting the Spirit 13-51, North Carolina wasn't successful in finishing off their chances, save for Kerolin Nicoli's 43rd-minute penalty kick. It's clear that the team is missing a striker with the instinct (and height) of Diana Ordóñez, though head coach Sean Nahas is confident that, with experience, the young players will develop a nose for the net.

Speaking of a nose for the net, Rodman's early tally was a result of her patrolling the Courage defensive third. The late afternoon sun created a glare at field level that appeared to play a part in an errant back pass attempt on the North Carolina defense. Rodman jumped on the loose ball and pocketed it in the upper 90 for the 1-0 lead.

GOOD RESPONSE FROM THE COURAGE

It was a shock start for the Courage, but the team responded well, often pinning back the Washington defense. The pressure paid off when rookie forward Haley Hopkins tried a shot from just outside the 18-yard box that caromed off of Tara McKeown's arm. The referee immediately awarded a penalty, and McKeown was shown the yellow card.

Kerolin lined up and took her signature stutter step up to the ball. It was enough to beat goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury (who had guessed the correct direction of the shot) and level the score in the 43rd minute.

With both sides pushing for the halftime lead, Marissa Sheva fired off a shot just outside of the six-yard box in stoppage time. Courage defender Kaleigh Kurtz did a great job of sliding to block the shot so it never got through to goalkeeper Casey Murphy.

CONTROVERSIAL PENALTY/IES

The Spirit took the lead when Hatch was awarded a penalty kick in the 47th minute. In live play and on the replay, it appeared that Hatch and Emily Fox were challenging equally for the ball when they both went down in the top corner of the box. But the referee did not see it that way and immediately pointed to the spot. The VAR team didn't see a reason to overturn the call, and the penalty stood. Hatch converted the penalty kick to make the score 2-1.

Neither Fox nor Nahas opined on the penalty call in their post-game press conferences, given the league office has ears everywhere and it's probably too early in the season to start racking up fines.

The mood was not improved by a stoppage-time non-call. With the Courage pushing furiously for the equalizer, Kiki Pickett played a long ball over midfield to Tyler Lussi. The forward took a touch into the penalty area, and Kingsbury bolted off her line and steamrolled Lussi at the top of the box. But instead of awarding a penalty kick, the linesman raised his flag after the play, tagging Brittany Ratcliffe for being offside.

First: Get rid of the "don't raise the flag right away" rule. It's absurd, and it is a great way to get players injured.

Second: Regardless of whether the player who DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE PLAY was offside, it should not negate the fact that Kingsbury swiped Lussi's legs out from under her and didn't even come close to getting the ball. At the very least, Kingsbury should have been given a yellow card for a dangerous play.

KEEP BUILDING

North Carolina made some halftime adjustments that created many attacking lanes that Fox exploited to keep the Washington defense on its heels, but the finish just wasn't there, and the Spirit left Cary with the 2-1 win.

"I really want them to believe," Nahas said of his team after the game. "I want them to remember where we started three months ago and realize that the style that we're playing is tremendous. And to continue to believe and continue to push forward and continue to play on the front foot and continue to do the little things it takes to be successful."

And here’s the thing. It wasn’t the result anyone rooting for the Courage wanted, but they played some entertaining football Saturday night and kept the 5,000+ fans on the edge of their seats. It’s going to take the front line stepping up and having the confidence to make that final play rather than passing the ball for the next person to finish the play. That, hopefully, will come with more experience, and we’ll see the early promise of North Carolina’s pre-season manifest in a more potent offense.

100 AND COUNTING

Before the game, team captain Denise O'Sullivan was honored for playing her 100th game in a Courage kit. She talked a bit about her role as a team leader, particularly when it comes to supporting the younger players.

"...it doesn't come overnight and with young players and new players, it takes a long time to get adjusted to this league. So, for me as a leader on this team it's just to support those girls and keep encouraging them, but at the same time hold them accountable as well."

A NIGHT OF FIRSTS

Saturday's game was the first start for Brianna Pinto and Haley Hopkins. Millie Farrow made her Courage debut when she came on for Pinto in the 87th minute. Brittany Ratcliffe made her first appearance of the 2023 season.

Fifteen-year-old Chloe Ricketts made her professional debut with the Spirit when she checked into the game in the 66th minute, replacing Marissa Sheva.

1 Stats may be a bit wonky for this game because the video stream wasn't functioning for most of the first half.

Lineups

North Carolina Courage: C. Murphy; E. Fox, K. Kurtz, R. Williams, K. Pickett; D. O'Sullivan (c), N. Miura (B. Ratcliffe 87'), B. Pinto (M. Farrow 87'), M. Gejl (T. Lussi 62'); K. Nicoli, H. Hopkins (R. Madsen 71')

Washington Spirit: A. Kingsbury (c); S. Staab, T. McKeown, G. Carle (A. Brooks 66'), D. Bailey; I. Jaurena (J. Baggett 90+3'), A. Sullivan, M. Sheva (C. Ricketts 66'); T. Rodman, A. Sanchez, A. Hatch (C. Kuhlmann 80')

Scoring

North Carolina Courage: Kerolin (PK) 43'

Washington Spirit: T. Rodman (unassisted) 6'; A. Hatch (PK) 50'

Discipline

North Carolina Courage:T. Lussi (YC 69'); B. Pinto (YC 81')

Washington Spirit: T. McKeown (YC 41'); T. Rodman (YC 78')