The North Carolina Courage beat the Orlando Pride 4-2 on Saturday, April 16 at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida, breaking an NWSL record along the way.
Taylor Smith’s ninth-minute goal was the Courage’s (3-0-2, 11 pts) third of the game as the team jumped out to the fastest 3-0 lead in NWSL history, breaking the record OL Reign set just three days earlier by two minutes.
Orlando (0-4-1, 1 pt) did well to respond, getting back within one-goal thanks to a brace from former Courage forward Darian Jenkins, but a late goal from Debinha sealed the win.
“I don’t think it was a tale of two halves, I think it was a tale of 10 minutes and then 80 minutes,” said head coach Sean Nahas. “I thought once we went up 3-0, I thought, ‘Man,’ but I also think that’s what the players did and got complacent.”
Merritt Mathias got the fun going in the third minute, forcing an own goal with a great cross from the right side.
The Courage continued to pound the ball down the right side, with Jaelene Daniels tapping in a Taylor Smith cross in the sixth minute. Three minutes later, Smith added a goal to her assist with a hard-hit shot at the near post.
Kiki Pickett got the assist on Smith’s goal, continuing her solid start to life as a No. 10. When Pickett arrived in NC most people expected her to play as a fullback, something she said she expected as well, but she is adapting quickly to her new role.
“I think anywhere on the field that I’m put in, I’m gonna give my 100% effort,” Pickett said. “ I may not know exactly what I’m doing, but I’m gonna give you everything that I have. Being in that new position, I know I have to learn a lot, go through all the tape and just take as much feedback and absorb everything that everyone’s telling me along with Sean and the players and just try to understand and learn as much as possible.”
While Debinha locked up the game with her third goal in the last three games in the 89th minute, Nahas says the team still needs to figure out how to win. In the team’s last three games, the Courage have given away leads, leading to draws against the Washington Spirit and NJ/NY Gotham FC in the two games before the international break.
“While it’s really good to get three points, we have to learn to win,” Nahas said. “Meaning not allowing teams [back into the game]. This is three games in a row, so at some point, we have to look at things and say, ‘Okay, what do we need to improve on?’ If you look at all the goals that we’re giving up, they’re quite similar. So it’s just something we have to hit the training ground with and work on. But I’m proud of the group in terms of responding, getting the fourth [goal] late when the game could have gone either way.”
Subbing in for Debinha just after her goal, Emily Gray, who the Courage took with the third overall pick in the 2020 draft, made her professional debut.
“It was really nice to get that off my chest and just to get a run out,” Gray said, “And obviously we got the win, so that’s most important. We wanted three points. So I’m just glad to be part of it.”
The Courage will return to WakeMed Soccer Park to wrap up the group stage of the Challenge Cup on April 23 as they host the Washington Spirit. Last time the Courage faced the Spirit, the pair split the points as Washington came back from a two-goal halftime deficit.
