Soccer ball on field at sunrise, serene landscape with goalpost in background.

Double whammy week and buckle up for the KC Current

Plus: The Soccer Tournament updates!

Hello Courage Country! I’m back from vacation, all refreshed and ready to pretend I didn’t watch two back-to-back losses while traveling (but of course I did).

The Courage will need to find a way to quickly shake off defeats from Orlando Pride and NJ / NY Gotham, because they face the undefeated Current on Sunday. Kansas City does have a game against Seattle tonight, so we’ll have one more look before squaring off in their sparkly new stadium.

Let’s take a look at what happened, and what’s ahead.

Recap: Courage (1) v. Orlando Pride (4)

Ok in some ways this one is easy: Barbra Banda happened. Honestly, I can’t put it better than the Courage press team: “She scored twice, had an assist, and it was her saved shot that led to a rebound goal in first half stoppage time.” It’s next level play and difficult to contain.

She’s a genuine joy to watch until she’s devouring your defenders like Pac-Man eating pellets.

What’s frustrating is that while the 4-1 score paints a lopsided picture, the Courage showed up and played a tough match. They didn’t really look outclassed and attacked well. Orlando’s Big Move, generally, was booting the ball over our midfield to open space and letting their talented forward squad do their thing. 

If anything, the telling stat is that the Courage maintained 66% possession, with only one point to show for it. Orlando was absolutely clinical in moving the ball and scoring. 

Their serious firepower up top worked well. Ally Watt was first to score – need I say off an assist by Banda? Then Banda scored. Then Julie Doyle kicked home the rebound from a Banda shot at the end of the first half. Summer Yates, the lead scorer for the Pride heading into the match, was also a constant threat. In short, this attack spread our defenders thin in moments when they could get back in time. It created a lot of room for goals.

On the Courage front, Tyler Lussi hit the crossbar, preventing an early goal (that particular villain came back to haunt us in the next match). Early in the second half, Hayley Hopkins forced a cross in front of the net, and the ball bounced off of Emily Sams’ foot for an own goal. We were positioned well, and a goal likely would have resulted from that attack anyway, so I’ll take it. 

Finally, Banda put away another ball at 77’, the final point in the 4-1 loss.

This was a team effort on Orlando’s part. The threat of several forwards and midfielders working to get the ball into open space caught us off guard, and we couldn’t keep up with their speed after playing our defenders so high. 

Which I wanted to say before stating this: Barbra Banda surpasses all expectations. She’s amazing to watch. I’m excited to watch Banda do more, and hope we have an answer for her next time around.

Recap: Courage (0) v. NJ / NY Gotham (1)

I’ll admit: I was getting nervous for the first 30 minutes of this match. The Courage looked scattered, and I found myself wondering if they were rattled by Orlando, tired from all the travel, or both. 

Our more physical forwards Bianca St-George and Victoria Pickett got the start, given this is similar to the lineup we fielded in our previous victory over Gotham.

The Courage gave up a goal at the 11’ minute mark to former player Lynn Williams. Gotham was working the ball toward the net again and again. Eventually, Williams was in the right place at the right time to blast it in.

Ten minutes later, St-Georges got a yellow card.

And … after that, the team started really pulling together and played well. We had five shots on goal, continuing our streak of creating good opportunities that just aren’t racking up the points. Ashley Sanchez had a shot off the post (that darned post!). 

It helped Gotham that keeper Ann-Katrin Berger was in top form.

There were also some odd substitutions in the second half. Malia Berkely left the pitch with an apparent calf injury. While we had both Jenna Winebrenner and Maya McCutcheon on the sub list, coach Sean Nahas opted for midfielder Dani Weatherholt. Later, left back Feli Rauch was pulled for Brianna Pinto, who’s generally played more forward for us this season.

Ultimately, Gotham didn’t score again, and now that we’ve finished up our series with them, it’s time to take a look at our first bout with Kansas City in 2024.

Look ahead: Courage v. KC Current

Hey! Neat! We get to play the only other unbeaten team in the NWSL this week! With another speedy front line! Still on the road! And their coach was complaining they have the tough schedule 😂.

Everyone expected the Current would do well this year, adding more talent in the offseason and enjoying their first year in their fancy new purpose-built stadium.

Still, they have been absolutely dominant. Prior to Orlando acquiring Barbra Banda, the Current were the clear league leaders.

And while we’re getting excited about dynamite African players, Malawian forward Temwa Chawinga is another thrilling player. Also of note, former Courage player Debinha is back from injury, subbing in during the second half of their match against Houston last week. And forward Bia Zaneratto was just named NWSL Player of the Month.

While Kansas City has plenty of forward and midfield firepower, they are not invincible. They looked shaky last week, eking out their second draw of the season in a match that had a lengthy pause for weather. The Current face Seattle tonight, and unfortunately had travel delays affecting their ability to practice this week. So we’ll face a squad with at least the same level of tired the Courage experienced last week.

Regardless of the outcome of this match, I think what’s most important is seeing how the Courage show up. They’ll need to find a way to play loose and have some fun. That shake-it-off mindset is what sets apart top tier teams.

Courage news and updates

Around the league and beyond

That’s it for this week! As always, you can get in touch with tips, suggestions, corrections and more: contact@lionspitch.com.

Thanks, Trevor

Next match: Sunday, May 12, 6:00 pm ET

North Carolina Courage v. KC Current

Away

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