The North Carolina Courage moved up to third in the NWSL standings following a 2-0 win over Racing Louisville FC on Wednesday, June 23.
Feeling right at home in Lynn Family Stadium, Lynn Williams made a statement just hours after being named as an alternate on the USWNT Olympic roster, scoring not once, but twice, in the first 45.
“First half, we created a boatload of chances and really should have buried the game,” said Courage head coach Paul Riley. “It’s good to see Lynn back on the scoreboard. I think now the Olympics things are out and she’s made the group of 22, I think she can get on with just playing now and being herself. Really happy with her.”
Grabbing the assists on Lynn Williams’ goals, Sam Mewis and Carson Pickett were also excellent. Mewis’ assist to Williams marked the second game in a row where the two have linked up for a goal and Pickett, on both dead balls and forward runs from left back, was a seemingly endless supply of service into the box.
“Me and Sam, we have such a great friendship that I think translates onto the field,” Lynn Williams said. “But I think if you ask either of us, we’d always say we’re on opposite pages all the time… At some point in the season, me and Sam usually just click and we’re like, we’re on the same page and I think that’s what you saw tonight.”
With three games in seven days, the Courage lineup saw a heavy dose of rotation with Welsh international Angharad James making her NC Courage and NWSL debut. Katelyn Rowland, Ryan Williams, and Brittany Rattcliffe also earned their first starts of the regular season.
James played 67 minutes in her debut and formed a stellar partnership with Denise O’Sullivan at the base of Riley’s box midfield. Easily overshadowed by Lynn Williams’ first-half goals, both James and O’Sullivan made a counterattack-stopping tackle and were excellent all around.
“I told you guys she was good, but she’s really good,” Riley said. “She’s got a lot of similarities to Sully, I think in the way she picks up balls, reads the game. With the ball, she’s clean, you know, one touch, two touch, range of passing, good engine too… She’s just clean, smart, and intelligent. She looks like a proper footballer.”
Early in the second half, James nearly took her debut from good to great, but was denied a stellar goal by an even better save from Michelle Betos.
The win over Louisville marked not only the team’s first road win of the regular season, but the first time the Courage have been able to win back-to-back games this season.
“This season, we’ll have a good game, and then we’ll have an average game and have a good game and have an average game,” Lynn Williams said. “Last game, we were coming off of a great win. We just wanted to continue that momentum.”
The Courage will complete their very busy week on Saturday, June 26, taking on the Portland Thorns at WakeMed Soccer Park.
