Photo courtesy of Gregory Ng from NCFCShots.com
Just days after bagging two in the first half against Louisville, Lynn Williams flipped the script against the Portland Thorns, scoring two in the second half to give the Courage its third win in the last seven days.
With her two goals, Williams became the league’s leading goalscorer, surpassing Orlando’s duo of Sydney Leroux and Alex Morgan.
“I’ve found myself a little bit of a groove,” Williams said. “I owe that a little bit to my coaches, my teammates, my parents, because they made me. I recently started seeing a sports psych. I think that we don’t talk about that enough as athletes, the mental side of the game. So I really think that’s helped me turn around and hopefully I can continue on this upward trajectory. But then again, we know sports.”
Williams’ rapid-fire scoring spree started in the Louisville game, just hours after she missed out on the 18-player USWNT roster, being named an alternate.
“It’s definitely been a little up and down,” Williams said. “Obviously a little bit disappointed with not being on the team, but super honored and grateful to be a part of the delegation, and be a part of the team and help the 18 get ready to hopefully win a gold medal in Tokyo. But with that being said, when I’m here, when I’m with the Courage, I have to focus on what this team needs me to do and that’s press, that’s creating chances.”
The first of Williams’ goals came off a corner in the 57th minute. After Carson Pickett’s initial ball in was headed by a Portland player at the near post, it fell perfectly to Williams on the far side.
After not getting credited with the assist on the first goal, Pickett ended up getting her assist less than 10 minutes later, delivering a perfect cross for Williams to head home. With the goal and assist, Williams and Pickett both became league leaders in the respective stats.
After swapping around the center backs during the week, Kaleigh Kurtz returned to the starting lineup and was excellent next to Abby Erceg. With both Kurtz and Diane Caldwell getting good minutes and playing well ahead of Erceg’s departure for the Olympics, the Courage’s backline should be in steady hands during the captain’s absence.
During the first half, Erceg eclipsed 10,000 regular-season NWSL minutes, becoming just the 14th field player and Kiwi to hit the milestone.
With the win over Portland, the Courage went nine for nine in points during an incredibly congested week.
“It’s not very often I don’t think in this league where you get nine points in a week,” Courage head coach Paul Riley said. “I don’t remember ever doing this to be honest with you since I’ve been coaching in the NWSL. It was a fabulous week for us.”
The game was Sam Mewis’ last before joining with the USWNT head of the Olympics. The Courage’s other three olympians, Debinha, Erceg and Williams, will depart over the next two weeks.
The Courage will have a full week off before their next game, traveling to high-flying Orlando for a Fourth of July showdown.