Courage Win Third Straight with 1-0 Victory Over Angel City FC Wednesday
September 14, 2022 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – North Carolina Courage News Release
CARY, NC – The North Carolina Courage secured three huge points at WakeMed Soccer Park Wednesday night with a 1-0 win over Angel City FC in midweek NWSL action to earn a season split with the league newcomers. The Courage (7-7-4, 25 points) inch closer to playoff positioning with four matches remaining in the regular season.
The Courage have now won three straight overall matches and five of their last six with four consecutive wins on their home field.
After a slow start, the Courage put together a stellar second half and outshot Angel City 22-8 for the game, including a 6-3 edge in shots on goal, while posting 82% passing accuracy and a slight edge in possession. Casey Murphy made a trio of saves, including a pair of one-on-one situations in the first half, to keep the match level until the home team could get their legs underneath them.
A flurry of North Carolina chances went by the board in the first half, with the Courage seemingly in a dangerous position every time they won possession. As they began to dictate play in the second, the Courage broke through in the 54th minute on a brilliant combination up the left flank. After Diana Ordóñez played Debinha through, she fought off defenders to angle into the box and rolled a centering ball for Kerolin Nicoli to one-touch past the keeper and put the home side ahead.
Debinha would again probe the left side in the waning minutes, but her shot hit woodwork to prevent an insurance tally but the Courage were able to carry a bulk of the possession until the final whistle.
Match Notes:
Kerolin Nicoli scored her sixth goal of the season, moving her into a tie for eighth-most in the NWSL this season. She has scored in three straight matches with five goals in that span.
The Courage are now tied with Portland for most goals (39) and goals-per-game (2.23) while holding the outright lead in team assists (29).
The Courage have allowed one goal combined in their last three matches with a pair of clean sheets. NC had two total clean sheets on the season prior to this stretch.
Next Match: The North Carolina Courage will return to action at WakeMed Soccer Park against the OL Reign on Saturday, September 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tickets are available here, and the match will be available to stream on Paramount+, WRAL Sports+ (locally), and Twitch (internationally).
Box Score:
NC (4-4-2): Casey Murphy, Carson Pickett, Abby Erceg ©, Kaleigh Kurtz, Ryan Williams, Brianna Pinto, Denise O’Sullivan, Fuka Nagano (Meredith Speck – 87′), Debinha, Kerolin Nicoli (Jaelene Daniels – 87′), Diana Ordóñez (Merritt Mathias – 76′)
Subs Not Used: Katelyn Rowland, Malia Berkely, Katie Bowen, Kiki Pickett, Brittany Ratcliffe, Tess Boade
LA (4-4-2): DiDi Hiračić, Tyler Lussi (Jasmyne Spencer – 46′), Megan Reid, Paige Nielsen, Ali Riley © (Miri Taylor – 74′), Savannah McCaskill, Cari Roccaro, Dani Weatherholt (Lily Nabet – 84′), Jun Endo, Claire Emslie (Simone Charley – 46′), Clarisse Le Bihan
Subs Not Used: Brittany Isenhour, Allyson Swaby, Madison Hammond, Hope Breslin
Score:
NC: 1
LA: 0
Goals:
NC: Kerolin Nicoli (Debinha) – 54′
LA: –
Cautions:
NC: Brianna Pinto – 58′
LA: Tyler Lussi – 5′
Ejections:
NC: –
LA: –
• Discuss this story on the National Women’s Soccer League message board…
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
