BRIANNA! PINTO! In an energetic match from both the Courage and Angel City FC, Pinto had another stick-with-it-no-matter-what goal to seal 3 points on the road.
I’m also delighted to share we have a special podcast guest this week, Grace, who will be performing in drag as G-Clef ahead of the Pride Night match against Houston. It’s a fun conversation about soccer fandom and the queerness. The episode drops tomorrow; you can find us on Spotify or any of the other popular podcast apps.
You’ll want to be at this week’s match when the gates open at 6p to catch all of the great Pride fest activities, including several drag performances. If you haven’t been, it’s all very family friendly, fun and on-theme; and don’t forget to tip the performers!
Recap: Courage v. Angel City FC
With perhaps their most unusual lineup of the season, it felt like something finally clicked a little with the Courage. This was a fun and spirited match, and many of the issues we were seeing earlier in the season are smoothing out. As just two examples, players were making technical passes timed well to their teammates’ runs, and they were spacing very well in attacking formation. Maybe it’s the constant rotation of players forcing that next-person-up mentality; maybe ceding a bit of possession is opening up something unexpected against opponents; or maybe we’re just all starved for a win after brutal back-to-back losses.
The starting lineup was surprising, with Ashley Sanchez and Jaedyn Shaw listed as subs. Cortnee Vine and Shinomi Koyama started in the forward spots instead. Due to a last-minute illness, Tyler Lussi started in the winger role over Feli Rauch. And finally Maycee Bell replaced Natalia Staude on defense with Malia Berkely back in the mix. Coach Sean Nahas remained unavailable for the second consecutive match due to medical reasons.
Vine played a great game last week but didn’t score, so it was thrilling to watch her put a ball in the back of the net in less than a minute of play. Kurtz found some room to the move ball to the left, and a rapid exchange between Riley Jackson and Lussi led to a pass to Shinomi, who had the most deft touch imaginable to get it to Manaka Matsukubo. Manaka wasted no time making a quick pass, and a sliding kick from Vine finished it. A beautiful, very Courage, very team effort.
I also wanted to note the formation. Even in a surprising and rapidly evolving attack, Vine is placing herself perfectly to kick the goal, while Shinomi and Lussi are spacing themselves well to back up Manaka. They’re creating all sorts of chaos with ACFC’s defense:
The Courage showed another good look shortly after this goal, but Angel City had a couple of strong efforts themselves early on. First, Alyssa Thompson tried to take on Bell, initially being driven back. But Thompson pursued the chance again, eventually forcing a creative pass to Riley Tiernan, who made a solid effort at goal that went wide.
Shortly after that, Tiernan made a sneaky run into the box during an attack, while Gisele Thompson ran wide. Thompson executed a fantastic cross to Tiernan, who headed the ball into the net, bringing the score to 1-1. Courage defenders were in the box, but maybe a step too slow to mark Tiernan, who scored her 7th goal of the season.
The remainder of the first half was a solid back-and-forth match, with some good opportunities for both teams.
In the second half, Angel City played a little looser, earning more possession than the Courage. They looked threatening a few times, but couldn’t score.
The Courage brought in a lot of subs, including Shaw in for Jackson ( for the second match in a row); Sanchez in for Koyama, Hannah Betfort in for Vine, and finally, Pinto in for Manaka.
Nahas has stated he’s asking subs to come in hot this season, and taken as a whole, they have delivered. As Katie points out on this week’s podcast, Shaw and Sanchez brought in their usual creativity, a smart (if expected) ploy to break the deadlock.
But the sub who has most consistently come in with 🔥🔥🔥 is Pinto. Even though she subbed on a 88’, she scored the game winning goal at 90+5’ with persistence off of a corner kick. Please enjoy.
It was a convincing win among two teams solidly in mid-season form. If the Courage notch a win against Houston, they have time to continue fine tuning during the break. With two friendly matches against Liga MX Feminil squads, they potentially could test a return to a 4-3-3. Regardless, there’s an opportunity with a healthy squad to enter the second half of the season ready to battle for playoff contention.
Standout stats
- Manaka. 1 assist (tied for 3rd in the league), 3 of 5 shots on target, 83% pass accuracy.
- 33 ground duels won, more than double ACFC’s 15.
- Captain Denise O’Sullivan leads the league with 35 tackles won.
Stats from FotMob and NWSL.
Look ahead: Courage v. Houston Dash
While some expected the Dash to finally break out of the bottom of the table this season, they haven’t quite pulled it off. It’s a solid squad, but they are sitting third from the bottom with just 12 points. While the Courage are just one spot higher, they have 16 points and are tied for the final playoff spot, so there’s a bit of separation happening.
The Dash, led by former Courage coach Fabrice Gautrat, are also running a three-back defense, something the Courage haven’t faced yet. And while they recently struggled against San Diego and Orlando, it’s hard to gauge the merits of the squad against two of the top teams in the league.
In other words, both teams have had shaky form lately. While the Courage seem to be improving, it’s not easy to write off Houston. Maggie Graham had an excellent match last week as right wingback. Yazmeen Ryan at the forward position has not had the best season, but scored last week and is always a threat.
It will be tough for Houston to win an away match at First Horizon stadium, but they are shaping up to be a solid matchup for the Courage. It’s exactly the sort of game that might be a spoiler if the Courage don’t continue to progress from last week.
Courage news and updates
- Sully and Manaka were called up to Ireland and Japan, respectively, for the international friendlies. Sully will face the USWNT, more below.
- The Courage announced a second friendly against a Liga MX Feminil club, this one against Chivas de Guadalejara Feminil. The match will be held on Friday, July 25th at 7:30 p.m ET. For this match, season ticket holders must purchase a separate ticket.
- The previously announced matchup on Wednesday, July 9 at 7 p.m. against Tigres Feminil remains included in season ticket member packages.
Around the league and beyond
- USWNT head coach Emma Hayes announced she is giving most international players a break, with the exception of Naomi Girma, for the next round of friendlies. She noted players won’t have opportunities for breaks moving forward as they tune up and enter qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics. The roster hadn’t been announced at the time of publication. Here’s the schedule for the next several matches:
- 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, June 21, 7:30 pm ET
North Carolina Courage v. Houston Dash
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