Plus: previews for Denver match and the Washington rematch
Hello Courage Country!
Well!
After Utah gave the Courage a 4-1 lesson in set piece strategy, the Courage turned around and served up a devastating 5-0 victory over Orlando, no set pieces needed.
It was a critical match in a number of ways, starting with reversing the fortunes of a 3-game loss streak. It also negated the goal differential problem Utah created. This is important since in the NWSL, the first tiebreaker for playoff contention is goal differential, which now stands at +3 for the Courage.
The result was the widest scoring margin of any NWSL match this year, topping the Courage’s 4-0 victory in Chicago in May.
While head coach Mak Lind and team have yet to deliver the consistency needed to regularly notch goals the way Utah has done this season, this game was a thrilling glimpse at what the Courage are capable of when firing on all cylinders in midseason form.
What we learned: Courage v. Orlando Pride
The Courage midfield is settling out in a great way
Riley Jackson, Shinomi Koyama, and recent addition Erica Meg Parkinson display both offensive and defensive prowess. This was perhaps Shinomi’s weakest game in awhile, but as a general rule-of-thumb, she’s been reliable at breaking lines and moving the ball.
This week’s podcast co-host, Aaron Rogoff, notes that all three can move the ball from a strong defensive base, maintain good hold up play, and can crash the box as scoring threats.
In past weeks, we’ve talked about how the team’s aggressively forward stance has left gaps behind the midfield, but this match showed what the trio can do when things are clicking.
Orlando needs more of a game plan without Banda
With Barbra Banda and other African players participating in WAFCON the next few weeks, Orlando didn’t seem to have much of strategy. Technically, possession was rated at 50/50, but the stat hides Orlando’s willingness to sit back on the ball, which the forward-leaning Courage squad took advantage of immediately, scoring their goal at just 5’ in.
As with the lone Courage goal last week, Orlando buckled under the Courage press, allowing Lauryn Thompson a steal, who passed to Evelyn Ijeh who earned a brace to put the Courage up 3-0 at just 35’.
In past years, Orlando had stealth depth behind Banda, but they lost some personnel offseason, and have been dealing with injuries. For instance, we saw Summer Yates return this match, but for just 22 minutes, and after the game was out of reach for Orlando.
What’s the ceiling for the Courage?
We joked with Mak Lind in the post match press conference after he said he thought the team could have picked up a couple more goals in this match, asking: what’s the satisfactory number?
Kidding aside, the beautiful soccer coming out of the Orlando match makes us wonder what the ceiling truly is, and whether the floor can come up for the team. The gaps in the midfield weren’t as apparent this match. Having Natalie Jacobs and Feli Rauch for a longer stretch has helped defensively; Rauch participated in the build for the second goal, along with notching 2 interceptions and 3 tackles.
Standout stats
Whew, so many. Ready for some fun?
- Only 1 player in the last decade has achieved a hat trick with fewer matches played in the NWSL – Cloé Lacasse in 2024, per Opta.
- Thompson became the youngest goal-scorer in team history, and Parkinson the youngest to log an assist. That goal was only the third teen-to-teen goal in NWSL history, per the NC Courage.
And from Fotmob:
- The Courage had 9 shots on target to Orlando’s 2
- The Courage did give up 10 corners (many of them clearances forcing repeat corners).
- The Courage had 15 interceptions to Orlando’s 6.
- Natalie Jacobs posted 5 of those interceptions, 1 tackle, 1 block and 6 clearances.
Look ahead: Courage v. Denver Summit
The Courage have their first match against the Denver Summit tonight.
Denver and Boston, the league’s two expansion sides, sit at 11th and 12th on the table respectively, and ended their matchup this week with a 1-1 draw.
Throughout the season, Denver has looked like the stronger of the two, and recently added USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps to their squad.
They have a formidable back four, including former Courage center back Kaleigh Kurtz, paired with Eva Gaetino. Add to that Janine Sonis at left back, and Ayo Oke at right back, and it’s one of the better back lines in the NWSL.
Denver is last in the league in terms of fouls and tackles won, which might be an advantage for the Courage, who tend to struggle with more physical teams.
Look ahead: Courage v. Washington Spirit
At times, the Spirit look indestructible, but after losing at home 1-0 to San Diego last week, maybe the Courage can put up a similar showing on Saturday.
The Spirit tend to avoid the usual technical crosses in for a shot, instead relying on working their ball through the midfield and keeping a lot of players forward. They got creative and made their style work in the recent 0-2 Courage loss, after an initial effort to keep Trinity Rodman wide ran into the brick wall of Ryan Williams. For the Courage’s part, a rescinded goal by Ashley Sanchez knocked the wind out of the team’s sails, on a match that might otherwise have headed to a draw.
Is a draw an acceptable outcome here? Yes. Can the Spirit be beaten, also yes. Will the Courage have it in them to post a win on the road after traveling to Denver on Wednesday … that seems like a tall order, but anything is possible in the NWSL!
Newsletter pause
The newsletter will be taking a few weeks off while I attend to a new baby in our lives!
The podcast will continue with a pair of guest hosts in my absence. Spoiler alert: the first is Aaron Rogoff, who’s filling in for Katie this week.
This plan for our content was the best balance for our tiny volunteer team, so we appreciate your patience. I anticipate being back in mid-September to complete the weekly newsletters for the season.
Courage news and updates
- TONIGHT As part of their work with Paragon Theaters, NC Courage announced a Ted Lasso Season 4 Premier Watch Party. You can RSVP via Facebook at the link; tickets are limited. It’s a great way to kill some time until the Denver kickoff at 10p 😀
- Evelyn Ijeh was voted NWSL Player of the Week.
Around the league and beyond
- The NWSL cut ties with fledgling streaming service Victory+, initially established to host NHL matches that didn’t get picked up TV / streaming. The service recently expanded to the WNBA and NWSL, but reports over the past few weeks indicated the service hadn’t been paying some of its partners. Matches that would have appeared on Victory+ will be moved to NWSL+, and none of the other streaming and broadcast deals were affected by the move.
That’s it for this week! As always, you can get in touch with tips, suggestions, corrections and more: contact@lionspitch.com.
Next match: Wednesday, Aug 5, 10:00 pm ET
North Carolina Courage v. Denver Summit
Away
Streaming on: CBS Sports. This requires a cable subscription.
Following match: Saturday, August 8, 6:30 pm ET
North Carolina Courage v. Washington Spirit
Away
Streaming on: Ion.
Find us on BlueSky: @lionspitch