North Carolina Courage 4 – 3 Houston Dash
CARY, NC – In a wild seven-goal game, the North Carolina Courage outlasted the Houston Dash for a 4-3 win in the NWSL Fall Series.
This was the first game back at WakeMed Soccer Park for the Courage since they beat the Chicago Red Stars to win the NWSL Championship nearly a year ago. It was also the first meeting between the two teams in 2020, since they did not face each other during the Challenge Cup earlier this summer.
With the exception of Rachel Daly, on loan to West Ham United, and Megan Oyster healing a rib injury, the Dash roster was mostly unchanged from their Challenge Cup championship squad.
The same cannot be said for Paul Riley’s Courage roster. Midfielder Sam Mewis departed for Manchester City in August. Two-time team MVP Denise O’Sullivan was recently loaned to Brighton & Hove Albion so that she can compete with the Irish National Women’s Team in the UEFA Women’s Euro Qualifiers later this month. Crystal Dunn, Jaelene Daniels, Jessica McDonald, Kristen Hamilton, and Abby Erceg all voluntarily opted out of the NWSL Fall Series.
With a substantial portion of his first-choice lineup unavailable, Riley switched from his box formation to a 3-1-4-2 with Abby Dahlkemper captaining the squad. He was forced to further juggle his back line in the 9th minute when rookie Addisyn Merrick challenged Houston’s Veronica Latsko for a header. The players collided and Merrick had to leave the game with a head laceration. Peyton Perea, who signed with the Courage as a replacement player during the 2019 World Cup, replaced Merrick.
The Challenge Cup champions picked up where they left off seven weeks ago. They immediately put heavy pressure on the Courage, asking their defense some tough questions. Barely a minute into the game they forced goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé into making a save.
It would be North Carolina getting on the scoreboard first against the run of play. Debinha slipped around Katie Naughton and made a beeline into the penalty area where she was chopped down by Allysha Chapman. Referee Matt Franz pointed to the penalty spot and handed Chapman a yellow card (put a pin in this, it will loom large later on). Without hesitation, Dahlkemper took a step and buried the penalty shot behind Jane Campbell.
The Dash continued to press North Carolina with Latsko, Nichelle Prince, and Shea Groom teaming up to keep the Courage busy in their own half of the field. Their effort finally paid off in the 25th minute when Groom picked Dahlkemper’s pocket and challenged Labbé, who came off the line to defend. Spotting Latsko making a run alongside her, Groom slipped the ball over to her, giving the striker an easy tap-in past Labbé.
The visitors would take the lead in the 37th minute on a power shot from Kristie Mewis. Again, it was Groom stirring the pot in North Carolina’s 18-yard box winning the battle for possession before poking a pass to her midfield partner for the assist.
Hoping to change the energy up front, Riley replaced Danica Evans with Hailey Harbison. The change opened up some space for Williams and Debinha to be creative in front of the goal. Under pressure from a defender, Williams spotted Debinha and slipped the ball across to her. The Brazilian star popped around the defender and, cleared for takeoff, launched a rocket that dipped over Campbell’s head.
Houston had to play the final 40 minutes short-handed when Chapman made an ill-advised hard tackle on Courage midfielder Lauren Milliet. Already sitting on the earlier yellow card, the referee was forced to eject Chapman with her second yellow card of the game.
Being down a player didn’t seem to alter James Clarkson’s game plan, though, as the Dash continued to challenge the home team through the middle of the field, looking to exploit a mistake. That chance came in the 70th minute when second half sub Katie Stengel drew two Courage defenders to her and released the ball back to Sophie Schmidt. She took a perfectly weighted touch to open some space before firing a bending ball past Labbe to put the visitors in the lead once again.
For all of the questions the Dash asked, the Courage had an answer. This time it was Williams in the 83rd minute, teaming up with newcomer Rylee Baisden, who came on for Milliet late in the half. Williams and Baisden were teammates at Pepperdine, and when Paul Riley was looking for VOO replacements, he signed Baisden on Williams’ recommendation. Baisden repaid her college teammate by serving up a perfect low cross to Williams who popped the ball into the top left corner out of Campbell’s reach.
With the score level at 3-3, Debinha would get the last word on the day. As regulation time wound down, Houston’s defense attempted to clear out a North Carolina corner kick. Meredith Speck caught up to the ball just outside of the box and pushed it to Debinha, whose strike beat everyone for the game winner.
Final notes
Lineups
North Carolina Courage: S. Labbé; A. Merrick (P. Perea 9’), K. Kurtz, A. Dahlkemper ©; C. Roccaro; M. Speck, Debinha, L. Milliet (R. Baisden, 79’), R. Williams; L. Williams, D. Evans (H. Harbison 46’)
Houston Dash: J. Campbell; H. Hanson, A. Prisock, K. Naughton, A. Chapman; S. Schmidt, S. Groom (C. Nairn 82’), K. Mewis, B. Andrzejewski (E. Simon 58’); V. Latsko (K. Stengel 58’), N. Prince (J. Fields 83’)
Score
North Carolina Courage 4
Houston Dash 3
Goals
North Carolina Courage: A. Dahlkemper (18’ PK); Debinha (52’, L. Williams); L. Williams (83’ R. Baisden); Debinha (86’ M. Speck)
Houston Dash: V. Latsko (25’, S. Groom); K. Mewis (37’, S. Groom); S. Schmidt (70’, K. Stengel)
Discipline
North Carolina Courage: none
Houston Dash: A. Chapman (YC, 17’); A Chapman (YC/ejection, 53’)
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