Hello Courage Country!
I’m back from paternity leave, and appreciate everyone’s patience as we paused the newsletter for several weeks. The podcast continued during that stretch, thanks to the support of several guest co-hosts.
During that time, we had some terrific interviews with forwards Evelyn Ijeh and Ally Schlegel. If you haven’t heard them, now’s a great opportunity to take a listen:
I plan to be with you the rest of the season (and into the post-season?), so let’s get going!
What we learned: Courage v. Gotham FC
Experimentation continues at right wing
In a surprise move, the Courage started brand-new acquisition Gianna Paul at right wing, with another new player, Bia Gomes, subbing in at 90’. The other option for starter, Chioma Okafor, subbed in for Evelyn Ijeh during that same window.
Paul proved a fun addition, bringing speed and a willingness to drop deep when necessary, offering yet another type of player profile for a position that also includes Ally Schlegel and Lauryn Thompson, both of whom are dealing with injuries.
An interesting tidbit from the pre- and post-game press conferences: the Courage had been scouting her in 2025 before she signed with the Kansas City Current. Head coach Mak Lind specifically cited Paul’s speed, height, off-ball play, and keenness to run behind in zone 3 as advantageous for the Courage.
Courage held their own a gritty match, but sub pattern may have been an issue
For the three years this newsletter has existed, the Courage have tended to fare poorly when teams get physical. Starting late last season, we’ve seen more willingness for players to push back a little, but rough play still caused problems. In this match, despite Gotham’s best efforts, the Courage were not going to get bullied off of the ball, and outstripped Gotham in tackles 23-13.
That said, fatigue may have been part of the problem with the winning goal, where Gotham did what they do best: recycling a clear with a stunning over-the-top pass to Rose Lavelle, then collapsing into the box and taking shots until Jordyn Dudley scored her brace.
Lind has a stated preference to keep players on the field if the Courage hold momentum, which was the case for much of the second half, especially late. The 90’ subs mentioned above (Okafor, Gomes) meant that Gotham had an opportunity to capitalize on a mix of tired legs and fresh players not yet settled into the match. As Katie also points out in this week’s podcast, when there’s a pause in the game, the Courage have trouble reclaiming momentum.
Midfield inconsistencies continue to be a challenge
Katie and I had different reactions to the midfield play in this match, and together, both viewpoints likely reflect the realities of the midfield. I appreciate Parkinson’s willingness to be anywhere on the pitch and steal the ball, along with Shinomi’s strong touches and ball placement, both of which create a lot of turnovers and forward movement.
However, Katie points out their free-ranging play styles can lead to a break in formation when opponents overload the midfield. Gotham earned a lot of momentum this way, rather than relying on their typical transition play opportunism. We saw similar issues last week in the match against San Diego.
Look ahead: Courage v. Utah Royals
Utah has been the surprise upstart of the season, finishing 12th in the league in 2025. This year, they’ve posted a slow and steady rise up the table, peaking at third, and now sitting in fifth.
This will be another tough matchup for the Courage. Utah handed NC one of their worst losses of the season, outscoring the team 4-1 in July. Notably, all of those goals came from set pieces, so it was a strange match and not necessarily indicative of how next week will play out.
Mina Tanaka has 9 goals for the season, followed by Cloé Lacasse, who has 7 goals and is tied with Croix Bethune in leading the league with 10 assists.
Former Courage midfielder Narumi had a great game against the Courage in July, and defender Kate Del Fava will likely serve as captain at CB.
One unique facet of the upcoming match: Utah managed to earn two red cards in less than 30 minutes last week, meaning forward and captain Paige Cronin and center back Ana Tejada won’t be available.
In terms of strategy … not giving up set pieces will be a great start. Both teams tend to push for high scores, so this could be a fun shootout to watch.
Courage news and updates
- With 10,551 attendance, the Courage posted a sellout crowd, the second-highest attendance in club history, and the first September sellout the club has had.
- Not only is it official that Gianna Paul joined the squad, she started against Gotham.
- Here’s a great breakdown of Paul’s abilities by Bill Nottingham
- Nottingham has also done a breakdown for Bia Gomes in case you missed it!
- Colin Cerniglia at Charlotte Footy offered up an analysis of perpetually underrated club star Ryan Williams.
- Sam Mewis was in town! We’ll wrap up Courage news with a fun photo from The Women’s Game documenting all the players and coaches from the 2019 NWSL champion squad that were at this week’s match:
Around the league and beyond
- Following his unceremonious removal from Kansas City, former KC and USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski has taken the position of Chief Soccer Officer with the Chicago Stars. It’s a head-turning signing that might bode well for the future of the club, currently in last place on the table.
- With Gotham’s victory, along with fate taking a hand in the Denver and Angel City wins this weekend, Gotham becomes the first team to clinch a playoff spot for the 2026 season.
- The NWSL is launching new player development incentives for clubs, according to Jeff Kassouf at ESPN. Intriguingly, if a team signs a youth player after two years of development, they qualify for salary cap relief.
- Lesley Rider and Diana Moskovitz over at Defector published NWSL Received Eight Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Harassment, Or Retaliation Complaints This Year. Unfortunately, there isn’t much detail around those numbers, which has only sparked more questions.
- Lesley did a follow-up post offering context and answering some questions, which is well worth a watch.
That’s it for this week! As always, you can get in touch with tips, suggestions, corrections and more: contact@lionspitch.com.
Next match: Sunday, September 27, 7:00 pm ET
North Carolina Courage v. Utah Royals
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