NC Courage fall to Washington Spirit despite hard, late-game push to equalize

Trinity Rodman had little to no reaction.

After scoring in the opening ten minutes, the Washington Spirit forward calmly threw her arms up, letting her shot speak for itself.

Rodman took advantage of a slow turnover in the sixth minute as NC Courage defender Kiki Pickett attempted to play the ball to the back line in the defensive third. Thanks to Washington’s high pressure, the 2021 NWSL Rookie of the Year easily intercepted the ball and, with a calm approach, booted a shot into the right side of the goal and past the outstretched arms of Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy.

The goal was reminiscent of North Carolina’s errors against San Diego. On Thursday, Courage coach Sean Nahas said his team gave the ball up in dangerous spots against the Wave, leading to the team’s 3-1 loss on April 1.

Saturday, North Carolina was better in rest defense, better at doubling down and better at controlling second balls. The team controlled roughly 67% of possession, outshot the Spirit 13-5, and recorded four corner kicks to the Spirit’s zero. In the 10 minutes of added time at the end of the match, the Courage pounded the Spirit back line, creating chances with careful crosses. Take away the final result and, in North Carolina defender Emily Fox’s mind, the Courage dominated.

But they weren’t good enough to win — Rodman’s early goal and a penalty shot in the opening minutes of the second half by Ashley Hatch gave Washington the scoring it needed. The Spirit defense held off a furious rally in the closing minutes as the visitors escaped Cary with a 2-1 win over the NC Courage at WakeMed Soccer Park.

The loss is the second in three games for the Courage (1-2-0), while the Spirit (2-0-1) has yet to drop a decision.

“It just didn’t bounce our way,” Nahas said. “I told the players after the game I was really proud of them. I was disappointed for them — I’m not one to say they deserve to get a point, you deserve what you get — but I felt that today was one of those days where we performed well enough to get a point but we just didn’t do enough in certain areas to get a point.”

In the game’s 43rd minute, Kerolin Nicoli equalized Rodman’s goal on a penalty kick, gifting the Brazlian star with her second goal in as many matches.

Perhaps more impressive than Kerolin’s goal was the sequence prior to it. Fox said Nahas made a point at halftime to count the passes — estimating 20 — that led to the goal. A quality build-up found Mille Gejl an open look from just outside the box. Her blistering shot forced a handball.

After evening up the score with a tactical hesitation move, Kerolin jogged towards the right corner of the field, faked checking her pulse, and put a finger in front of her mouth in a ‘shush’ motion.

The Spirit didn’t remain quiet for long, as Fox conceded a penalty just after the halftime break, in the 47th minute. Her right arm appeared to pull down Hatch as the Spirit forward controlled the ball on the right side of the 18-yard box.

Nahas declined to comment on the penalty call. Fox didn’t elaborate much either, but said she was “bummed” to give up the penalty.

After the referees checked and confirmed the call via VAR, Hatch calmly booted the ball into the upper-right corner of the goal with a clever in-step from the penalty spot. The second goal for the Spirit marked Hatch’s 40th NWSL goal and fifth goal in six games against the Courage.

North Carolina’s response to its early deficit was notable. In the second half, the Courage worked better in space — driving out into wider areas and finding Fox higher and on the move. Several quality build-ups led to crosses across the box and chances late, albeit unsuccessful.

“I think for us, especially the second half, we really minimized their attacking chances,” Fox said. “We locked it down. I think learning from San Diego, that really helped, especially with teams playing really direct. I think we improved from San Diego and we’ll try to improve from this game as well.”

Fox said, in terms of possession and aggressiveness, the Courage implemented the tactics they’d been working on. North Carolina veteran midfielder Denise O’Sullivan, who was honored prior to Saturday’s match for reaching 100 NWSL regular season and playoff appearances for the Courage, pointed out that her team had four chances across the box in the final 10 minutes — four chances in which there was no Courage player in place for a redirect and score.

“Some of the adjustments we made and spaces we found created some good chances in the last part of that half,” Nahas said. “We can’t be naive to think that it’s just going to come easy. We have to find ways to put those in the back of the net and those are the learning moments that we’re going to have to go through.”

This story was originally published April 15, 2023 at 9:42 PM.