Hello Courage Country! The team posted a quality win over a physical Houston squad, earning another three points on the table. As Alison Gale noted, the Courage were the only team to move up, closing out the first half of the season with a big win and tied for the final playoff spot.
The Courage take on two great Liga MX Feminil sides in some upcoming friendlies, while also enjoying a full month off from NWSL play, in part per the collective bargaining agreement, and to allow for some international play.
Recap: Courage v. Houston Dash
The Courage replicated their starting XI from the previous week, with Tyler Lussi in over defender Feli Rauch, who came in as a sub this week. Ashley Sanchez and Jaedyn Shaw also continued to work in as subs, with Shinomi Koyama and Cortnee Vine in forward roles, alongside mainstay Manaka Matsukubo.
The bigger surprises came from Houston, who started keeper Jane Campbell for the first time in six matches. They’ve leaned more on Abby Smith recently. Former Duke player Maggie Graham came in as sub, despite having a strong season so far. And of course, the Courage welcomed back former assistant coach Fabrice Gautrat, now in the head role with the Dash.
The first half was a scrappy, wide-open match. Houston scored immediately, creating enough chaos in the box to slow down Malia Berkely on a clear. For UNC player Avery Patterson stripped the ball from her, made a few lateral steps to get a good angle, and fired on goal.
There was a lot of back-and-forth after that, but at times the Courage’s passing still looked imprecise. Houston was quick to close on attackers, leaving Courage players few options and a limited view of the field. Both teams held the midfield down, leaving a lot of runs up-and-down the sides of the pitch.
In the second half, the Courage took a clear command of the match, creating chance after chance and keeping pressure high oh Houston.
At 69’, midfielder Sarah Puntigam came in way too hot on Shaw at the sideline, earning a second yellow card, equating to a red card and leaving Houston a player short. This is also roughly when Shaw enters the match. Berkely made a perfect tap, both at a good angle and slowing the ball at bit, allowing Shaw set her feet and kick a goal to the far post.
Just ten minutes later, Manaka kicked a long, arcing ball toward the net. A quick redirect from Hannah Betfort results in another goal, putting the Courage up 2-1.
This was the first Courage goal for both Shaw and Betfort, and both came in straight off the bench and scored. Katie and I spend some time on this week’s podcast talking about how well substitutions have been working for the Courage this season, including clips from acting coach Nathan Thackery and Betfort. Shaw also speaks to how difficult it is to come off the bench and be ready to score. You’ll want to check it out!
Standout stats
Today’s stats are intended to reflect how aggressive the Courage were attacking, especially in the second half of this match. We also had some major milestones, so congratulations to Sanchez, Ryan Williams and Kaleigh Kurtz.
Look ahead: Liga Mx Matches
The Courage have two friendly matches against Liga MX Feminil squads in July. If you’re not familiar with Liga MX Feminil, these are two quality opponents for the Courage.
Tigres
First up will be Tigres on Wednesday, July 9 at 7 p.m. ET.
Like the Courage, the Tigres have an established history of winning championships in their league (6 total). Liga MX essentially runs separate fall and spring seasons. In May, the Tigres tied Monterrey in both of their quarter final matches, but Monterrey moved on via tiebreaker rules. Last fall, the Tigres made it to the semi-finals, but with a similar result: Club America W moved on after two tied matches.
There are several notable players for the Tigres, but I’ll start with two that have made headlines lately:
- ESPN’s Cesar Hernandez reports that María Sánchez has departed the San Diego Wave for the Tigres.
- Former Courage player Diana Ordóñez joined from the Houston Dash in late May.
Neither player is formally listed on the roster at time of publication, but are expected to be part of the team by the start of their Apertura season in July, so there’s a good chance they’ll be with the team.
Additionally, midfielder Jacqueline Ovalle is one of the league’s top scorers, and Jenni Hermoso plays as a forward. There’s plenty of firepower to keep the Courage defenders busy.
Guadalajara
Next up: Chivas de Guadalajara Feminil on Friday, July 25 7:30 p.m. ET.
Chivas got knocked in the semi-finals of the most recent playoffs, and in the quarterfinals of last fall’s competition. They are a physical squad, led by forward Alicia Cervantes, who tied for fourth-most goals scored in league. Carolina Jaramillo, an attacking midfielder, is also a constant scoring threat.
Both games are held at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Courage news and updates
- Shaw and Riley Jackson were called up again to the USWNT U-23 training camp.
- Manaka was called up for Japan’s national team for an international friendly against Spain.
- We mentioned this last week, but Denise O’Sullivan was called up for Ireland and will play against the USWNT.
Around the league and beyond
- Here’s the USWNT schedule during the break:
- v. Ireland (hi Sully!) on Thursday, June 26 at 9 p.m. ET.
- v. Irleand on Sunday, June 29 at 3 p.m. ET.
- v. Canada on Wednesday, July 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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, August 2, 7:30 pm ET
North Carolina Courage v. San Diego Wave
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