Down multiple starters due to injury and international duty, the NC Courage won their first game of the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup, taking down the Washington Spirit 3-2 behind goals from Kristen Hamilton, Jessica McDonald and Merritt Mathias.
With the team missing some key players, it was an impressive win, and there is a lot that can be learned from some big performances.
Depth on display
Without roughly half its starting lineup, other players stepped up and showed why depth likely won’t be an issue for the Courage this season.
Starting with the midfield, Havana Solaun and Meredith Speck as dual sixes were very, very good. Speck had a few moments in the first half where she gave the ball away in bad areas, including right before the first goal, but I would put that more on Katelyn Rowland than Speck as the keeper gave Speck the ball in a bad spot. As the game went on though, both settled in and proved to be a solid pair.
“[Speck] and Havana have acquitted themselves well,” said head coach Paul Riley. “They have only been together in that midfield for about a week. Cari Roccaro was in there the whole of preseason. It was a new partnership, but the two of them worked their socks off.”
Solaun was the better of the two going forward as she looked solid on the ball and played quite a few very dangerous passes, but she was also a lot better defensively than most thought she would be.
“I thought Havana was really good,” Riley said. “ I think it was the first goal; she played a lovely ball through, a penetrative ball. Really happy with her for her percentages on the ball… She’s got a good range of passing, a super intelligent player. A real footballer, and it is a pleasure to have her here.”
When 2018 and 2019 team MVP Denise O’Sullivan returns from international duty with Ireland and Angahard James arrives from Reading, the Courage will have a really solid core of defensively minded midfielders they can rely on.
At center back, the Courage had to go deep into its roster. With Diane Caldwell away with Ireland, Abby Erceg sidelined with a back injury and Kaleigh Kurtz only just recovering from an injury herself, Cari Roccaro (traditionally a midfielder) and Schuyler Debree, who the Courage only just acquired the rights to after she impressed in the preseason, had to step up and the pair performed well enough.
Riley said after the game the pair only really got three or so days to play as a partnership before the game, but they did enough to secure the win. It is not going to be a good long-term solution though, as the defense was beaten up the middle a few times, including Trinity Rodman’s debut goal to make it 3-2, but the pair got the job done and that is what was needed.
The forwards and full backs were also exceptional, but those positions were less impacted by the missing players, and we will get to those groups next.
Scary front four will only get scarier
The Courage’s front four (Debinha, Hamilton, McDonald and Hailie Mace) was all around very good, but as good as it was, it is going to get even better. Without even mentioning that Lynn Williams, one of the NWSL’s most prolific goal scorers, will be back from international duty in the coming weeks, Debinha could have had two goals in the first half and Mace had a really good chance that she probably should have put away in the second.
With it being the first real game of the year, it is not terribly surprising to see the finishing be a little wayward, but as these four (five with Williams) settle into the season, this Courage team, as usual, will be a nightmare for defenses around the league. Expect a lot of high-scoring wins for the Courage this season.
Don’t play a three-back against the Courage
McDonald said it best during the post game, but the Courage are very well equipped to take on three-backs and players like McDonald are the reason why. With speedy forwards drawing center backs out of their line, and two quick 10s behind them, the Courage are built to exploit that system.
“One of my favorite things about the game of soccer is playing against a three-back,” McDonald said. “With the pace that we have up top, we have the confidence to take on three players with the two and then we have two incredible 10s underneath us with incredible speed. If we can pull them off their lines and we can get another player open, that’s absolutely amazing… As soon as I heard that they were playing a three-back, I was salivating.”
That favorable matchup could explain some of why the Courage’s attack looked as dominant as it did against the Spirit. It will be interesting to see how they matchup with a different system, but if any other teams rock up with a three-back against the Courage, McDonald will be very happy.
Full back questions answered
One of the big question marks coming into this season for the Courage was what kind of production it would get out of its fullbacks. Long-time left back Jaelene Daniels retired in the offseason and Addisyn Merrick, who was really solid during 2020 was selected in the expansion draft, leaving some uncertainty in the positions.
Mathias, who had not played since Sept. 17, 2019 due to an ACL injury, returned and marked her return with a stunning chip and an all-around great performance. Coming back from such a long injury, there was no telling how well she would play coming back, but she put any doubt to rest.
“For me, it was about coming out and making a statement,” Mathias said. “Being gone for so long, people forget about the player that I have been. I wanted to come out today and make people remember. Hopefully I did.”
On the other side, Pickett made her NC Courage debut. Replacing Daniels’ production is going to be a tough task, but Pickett impressed in the preseason and carried that on into the Challenge Cup without missing a beat.
“It is important, because we play so narrow, that we have a left-sided full back,” Riley said. “That is the first prerequisite was left-sided player and the second one was somebody that has got an engine, can go up and down. The great thing about Carson, which I didn’t know, is she is good in the back third, middle third and final third.”
While she was not credited with an assist, Pickett played an incredible ball to McDonald leading to the second goal.
“She is a great deliverer of the ball, super smart player again,” Riley said. “She can find a key pass in the middle third, and she has the poise on the ball in the defensive third to play out and not panic. She is good defensively, great in the air so a lot of similarities to Jaelene, there is no question about it. She is a super addition for us. I didn’t think we could ever replace Jaelene, I don’t think there will ever be someone to replace Jaelene, but she is as close as we could get.”
Time will tell if the Courage can build on this performance in their next game of the Challenge Cup, which will be on April 20 as they hit the road to take on newly rebranded NJ/NY Gotham FC.
