Plus, Dani Weatherholt returns and the Spirit beat the Pride!
Hello Courage fans!
A very beleaguered Washington Spirit managed to take out Orlando this week, a victory that would have been a little sweeter with a Courage win. Alas, the Courage struggles in the final third continue, leaving the team asking a lot of questions about what mix of tactics and player chemistry will chart a better course for the remainder of the season.
Here’s a quick recap, with a look at a formidable Kansas City Current side next week. And I deleted “the Current-ly top and bottom teams face off next week” from the subhead. You’re welcome!
Recap: Courage v. Bay FC
This week, the starting XI saw another shakeup, with Meredith Speck, Brianna Pinto and Hannah Betfort in the forward roles (Betfort moving to the right), and Ashley Sanchez listed as a sub for the first time this season. Midfielder Riley Jackson got the start over Shinomi Koyama. A continued shakeup felt necessary, and trying to foster the Speck-Pinto connection from last week seemed like a sensible call.
Bay continued to mix it up as well, with forward Caroline Conti in for Asisat Oshoala, and defender Joelle Anderson giving an astonishing performance after starting over 2024 team captain Emily Menges.
The Courage continued to bookend inconsistent performances with a strong start, and, close to the end, a strong finish from subs. Even so, the team produced a season low of 5 shots total, with only 1 on target. That shot on target was a very good chance after an outstanding build, but didn’t pan out. The Courage were doing an excellent job at first testing both the left and right sides of the pitch, figuring out the weak side and making great forward progress.
One major challenge comes from the totally reasonable desire to move the ball through midfielder Jaedyn Shaw. Shaw has the team’s highest xG this season, and often finds space where little exists. But that’s become predictable for defenses, who work quickly to close off passing lanes or otherwise heavily mark Shaw, forcing the Courage to kick to a far corner.
On the other hand, defensively we were able to consistently push Bay straight into Ryan Williams, which works for a number of reasons:
- she’s having another phenomenal season
- Kaleigh Kurtz can backstop, and
- it lets Feli Rauch consistently sneak up high on the left side, generally leaving a 3-back positioning in attacking formation
Still, Bay managed a goal. It’s becoming a frustrating tradition for former Courage players on the opposing team to score a goal. After a throw-in near the corner, Kiki Pickett casually made her way close to the top of the box unmarked. Anderson managed to connect with her. And Pickett made a beautiful shot, sailing the ball over keeper Casey Murphy’s head. Paraphrasing Katie from this week’s podcast: at least the goals they’re giving up continue to be bangers.
The Courage made a series of subs between 63’ and 67’. The most notable was bringing Sanchez in for Betfort, rather than Shaw. Even though Shaw was playing well, I had made the assumption they were going to try to give Sanchez some time in the 10 role when she was listed as the sub.
A few things we are noticing so far this season:
- Teams are increasingly willing to back off their press in order to close off passes to the midfield.
- As I mentioned, this results in some long balls down the sides. Our passes tend to be too strong, forcing forwards to run to the corner to save the play, and by the time they can orient themselves toward the goal, they’re swarmed and can’t make much of a cross in. There was one great Speck-Pinto connection this week, but Pinto was sitting very deep in goal and nothing came of it.
- Turnovers continue to be a problem, as does being outcompeted on loose balls. There was a slight reprieve in the Gotham match, but it was still an issue in this week’s Bay game.
Standout stats
Stats from Fotmob, FBRef and the NC Courage
Look ahead: Courage v. Kansas City
You all know the drill with Kansas City, and they’ve had a relatively stable team since last season. They shoot – and succeed – often. They rank #1 in the NWSL with goals, as well as shots on target. They are the only undefeated team on the table. They have an aggressive attack, with midfielders Debinha and Lo’eau LaBonta regularly joining in with the forwards. And speaking of their forwards, 2024 League MVP and Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga leads a superstar attacking crew.
With all that forward momentum (please let me have that pun, I need some joy this week), and a stout defense, this will be the season’s toughest matchup for the Courage.
That said, last season Kansas City “just” beat us 1-0 in May, followed by a come-from-behind 2-1 Courage victory in September, in which Pinto and Vine scored our goals. So the veterans are familiar with slowing down the Current on defense and finding ways to score on offense. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pinto make another start.
Courage news and updates
- It’s worth dwelling on this week’s attendance stat. Just last year, there was serious concern in the fan community that the Courage weren’t attracting numbers to their matches, while much of the league was seeing soaring growth. A turnout of 7,049 in a tough season demonstrates successful outreach. The team put a lot of infrastructure in place last year, and expanded on that this season. Most impressive is the consistency, which should help build a stronger baseline.
- Evan Davis wrote a cutting piece for the Equalizer, with the title spelling out the take: Possession doesn’t win games in the NWSL, but the Courage remain committed to it (subscription required).
- Dani Weatherholt is active again, coming off the injured reserve list and seeing some time at the end of the Bay FC match.
Around the league and beyond
- Angel City, already having a surprisingly good season, announced their new head coach: FC Bayern’s Alexander Straus.
- Trinity Rodman is stepping back from the USWNT and Washington Spirit as she continues to address her back injury.
That’s it for this week! As always, you can get in touch with tips, suggestions, corrections and more: contact@lionspitch.com.
Next match: Saturday, April 26, 7:00 pm ET
North Carolina Courage v. Kansas City Current
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