The North Carolina Courage put up four goals at home against Kansas City to pick up three points while OL Reign dropped their second-straight contest to Gotham FC. See the breakdown of the NWSL’s Saturday night matches!
North Carolina Courage 4, Kansas City 0
The Skinny: The North Carolina had four goals and four different goal scorers on Saturday night at WakeMed Soccer Park. Lynn Williams, Jess McDonald, Amy Rodriguez and Meredith Speck put on a clinic, just a day after Paul Riley talked about juggling the first three mentioned on the front forward line. They took on Kansas City, featuring against former teammates. Rodriguez scored against her former club, while Katelyn Rowland was in net — starting over Adrianna Franch, who arrived to Kansas City in the middle of the week.
Williams kicked off scoring in the 12th minute after being fed the ball from left back Carson Pickett. Williams settled the ball and took the shot on her second touch past her former teammate Rowland. Pickett earned a second assist on a corner kick on McDonald’s goal, coming nine minutes later.
Goal, @TheNCCourage! First Lynn, then Jess and now Amy Rodriguez! The forwards are putting on a clinic at WakeMed! #NCvKC | 3-0 pic.twitter.com/cbQE0wEaUk
— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) August 22, 2021
— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) August 22, 2021
In the 64th minute, Ryan Williams found Amy Rodriguez in the box for the third tally. The final nail in the box came from Meredith Speck, who scored her first Courage goal only a few weeks ago, chased down the ball after a deflection and ran down the field to score on an empty net.
One Key Moment: All of the goals had a special touch, but there was something meaningful about Williams’ goal as she returned to North Carolina from the Olympic break. Williams entered the XI with no trouble at all adjusting to the Courage from the USWNT play. However, as much applause belongs to Pickett for the two assists on Williams’ and McDonald’s goals.
Goal, @TheNCCourage! Lynn Williams returns from the Olympics with a big goal over Kansas City! #NCvKC | 1-0 pic.twitter.com/npi9fIKzWm
— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) August 21, 2021
— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) August 21, 2021
Inside the Game: The Courage are closing in on the Portland Thorns — who did not play any league matches this weekend due to featuring in the ICC Tournament. Only two points separate the first-place Thorns and the second-place Courage. It seemed only a few months ago that Portland wrapped up the number one spot. However, the Courage are focusing in on the Thorns and the top spot, a familiar location on the table for North Carolina. The two sides will meet later this season on Sept. 12 and Oct. 30 — the latter being the final regular season match.
Pickett has to be the player of the match, and her play this season has been worthy of a spot on an international roster under Vlatko Andonovski.
The Goals
- North Carolina Courage — Lynn Williams (Carson Pickett), 12′
- North Carolina Courage — Jess McDonald (Carson Pickett), 21′
- North Carolina Courage — Amy Rodriguez (Ryan Williams), 64′
- North Carolina Courage — Meredith Speck (Taylor Smith), 90′
OL Reign 3, Gotham FC 2
The Skinny: Gotham FC kept
More...