The North Carolina Courage drew 0-0 on the road against Kansas City on Sunday, Sept. 5. With the draw, the Courage extended their clean sheet streak to five and unbeaten streak to seven.
While the team has been fantastic defensively in recent weeks despite injuries, the attack has been lackluster. The Courage have scored one or fewer goals in eight of their last nine games, with the lone exception being the 4-0 home win over KC on Aug. 21.
“It’s just missing pieces all the time,” Courage head coach Paul Riley said. “I don’t think we’ve had all the pieces together. Obviously, without [Sam Mewis], who makes a big difference for us, we don’t have that runner out of the midfield that attracts attention. … Just that final ball, we’ve been struggling, especially the last couple of games.”
Despite winning 4-0 in that game, the Courage were outshot 26-9 and this showdown with KC was much of the same. Goalkeeper Casey Murphy kept them in the game once again while the attack was unable to replicate its lethal performance from August.
“It was a good defensive display,” Riley said. “The one thing we seem to have got is the ability to defend and keep clean sheets. With so many players missing, we set about the task more defensively. …We weren’t super sharp in that final third. Unfortunately, until we get a little bit sharper in that final third, we aren’t going to win games, at least not comfortably. But again, we’re on the road in a tough, tough place to play, so I’ll take the point to be honest with you.”
Another major difference between those two games were the field conditions. Playing at home, the Courage are able to get into wide areas and stretch teams, something not possible on the converted baseball field at Legends Field.
“We knew the game was gonna be difficult,” said Merritt Mathias. “To come here and play the style of game that we like to play is difficult. You can get caught and we’re not looking to drop points. To get a tie, or a three points, out of this game is huge. To pick up a point on the road, especially in these conditions, the field is just terrible quite frankly. There’s not enough space and the conditions of the field are not very good.”
With center backs Abby Erceg and Diane Caldwell both sidelined with injuries, the Courage had to go with the three back once again. Carson Pickett and Mathias, who usually start as the two full backs, played on either side of Kaleigh Kurtz.
“We decided to switch up the formation a couple of days out,” Mathias said. “ With some injuries that have been picked up through the week, we were just trying to sort out what would be the best lineup to put out and we switched into a three back and Carson and I became the two center backs, which I have never played before.”
In front of the defensive trio, Havana Solaun was the most defensive midfielder, with Meredith Speck and Cari Roccarro completing the midfield trio. Up front, the Courage had a very fluid attacking quartet with Jess McDonald, Lynn Williams, Amy Rodriguez and Debinha constantly interchanging.
The opening 45 minutes of the game could only be described as a keeper battle. Murphy came up with big save after big save for the Courage, stopping all six Kansas City’s first-half shots on goal, including some stunners.
In addition to that first big save, Murphy stopped a volley from former Courage star Kristen Hamilton in the 36th minute and came up with a stunning foot save later in the half. The clean sheet was Murphy’s 10th of the season.
“Casey Murphy is the No. 1 right now in the US for me,” Riley said. “She’s been fabulous in the air, on the deck. That save in the first half was brilliant. Easily could’ve squeaked in that near post. She’s just so dominant on crosses. I’m sure she’s been noticed by the National Team staff and I’m sure she’ll be called in soon.”
While Kansas City keeper Adrianna Franch lacked the quantity that Murphy had in that opening 45, making just two saves in the first half, she came up big to stop Courage forward Jess McDonald from close range to keep things locked at 0-0.
Riley went to his bench for the first time in the 59th minute, bringing on Ryan Williams for Rodriguez. With the substitution, the Courage switched to a four across the midfield with Speck and Ryan Williams in the two wide positions. The change in shape helped the Courage solidify in the second 45 and see out the scoreless draw.
The Courage will be back in action next weekend for a tough showdown with league-leading Portland. The game is set for Sunday, Sept. 12 at 3 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
