Washington Spirit falls on the road vs. league-leading North Carolina Courage

Washington Spirit  |   July 11, 2018
Washington Spirit falls on the road vs. league-leading North Carolina Courage Featured Image

Cary, N.C. (July 11, 2018) – The Washington Spirit fell Wednesday night to NWSL table leaders North Carolina Courage 2-0 at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park.

North Carolina earned their 13th win of the season through 17 games (13-1-3, 42 pts). With the loss, Washington fell to 2-11-4 (10 points).

Brazilian international Debinha opened scoring early in the 12th minute. Lynn Williams controlled a long ball down the left side and played the ball through the box to where a lunging Whitney Church cut off the initial ball, but Debinha collected the rebound to give the Courage an early lead.

Jessica McDonald finished the second goal for the Courage in the 60th minute. Crystal Dunn collected a turnover in the Washington half and distributed to McDonald on the right side at the top of the penalty box. McDonald cut to her left and fired a shot which deflected off of Church seeking to defend and doubled the Courage lead.

The back line of Church, Taylor Smith, Estelle Johnson and Caprice Dydasco started together for the fourth consecutive game and for a significant portion of the game held the league’s most potent offense intact. The defense recorded five blocked shots including an impressive block in the 90th minute from Johnson who made up significant ground and caught up with Williams who was in-behind and cleanly slid in blocking a potential late third goal for North Carolina.

Aubrey Bledsoe recorded another impressive performance, recording four saves on six Courage shots on target. Bledsoe came up with another highlight reel save in the 55th minute, diving full extension into and colliding into the post to rob North Carolina of a goal. [WATCH]

The Spirit offense mustered six shots against the tough North Carolina defense, four of which were on target. Washington created the first major chance for either side in the 10th minute when Andi Sullivan threaded a through ball to Taylor Smith in-behind the back line. Smith’s shot was collected by goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland, who recorded four saves on the evening.

Washington nearly scored for the second consecutive game on a corner kick in the 48th minute. Church found an open Tori Huster, but the midfielder’s header was just high of the crossbar.

In the 83rd minute, substitute Rose Lavelle played a ball ahead to Ashley Hatch who took a clean first touch and fired at the net. Her shot required a save from Rowland and led to a corner kick.

Lavelle and Havana Solaun each entered the contest and earned significant minutes as second half substitutes for the second consecutive game. Mallory Eubanks returned to action, entering the game as a substitute in the 85th minute.

The Washington Spirit returns home to the Maryland SoccerPlex on Saturday, July 21 to take on the Houston Dash. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. [TICKETS]

-NWSL Match Report-

Match: Washington Spirit at North Carolina Courage
Date: July 11, 2018
Venue: Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear, Low 90’s

Scoring Summary:

Goals 1 2 F
North Carolina 1 1 2
Washington 0 0 0

NC – Debinha 12’
NC – Jessica McDonald (Crystal Dunn) 60’

Lineups:

NC (4-4-2): Katelyn Rowland; Abby Dahlkemper; Abby Erceg (c); Heather O’Reilly; Merritt Mathias; McCall Zerboni; Denise O’Sullivan; Debinha (Meredith Speck, 88’); Crystal Dunn (Kristen Hamilton, 71’); Lynn Williams; Jessica McDonald (Samantha Mewis, 65’)

Subs not used: Darian Jenkins; Sabrina D’Angelo; Kaleigh Kurtz; Cari Roccaro

WAS (4-4-2): Aubrey Bledsoe; Caprice Dydasco; Whitney Church; Estelle Johnson (c); Taylor Smith (Mallory Eubanks, 85’); Rebecca Quinn; Tori Huster; Andi Sullivan; Meggie Doughtery Howard (Havana Solaun, 73’); Estefania Banini (Rose Lavelle, 70’); Ashley Hatch

Subs not used: DiDi Haracic; Kelsey Wys; Joanna Lohman; Francisca Ordega

Stats Summary: NC / WAS
Possession: 53.7 / 46.3 %
Shots: 21 / 6
Shots on Goal: 6 / 4
Saves: 4 / 4
Corner Kicks: 5 / 2
Fouls: 12 / 5
Offside: 1 / 1

Misconduct Summary:
NC – Denise O’Sullivan (Yellow Card) 53’

Officials:
Referee: Daniel Gutierrez
Assistant Referee 1: Jennifer Garner
Assistant Referee 2: Forrest Ambrose
Fourth Official: Amanda Ross

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