Final match recap and a thank you

Hello Courage Country! I’m writing to you for the final time this season, after the Courage had a tough loss to Kansas City in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. It’s been a wild season in so many ways, and I appreciate you sticking with us!

Let’s get to our breakdown, and take a look at what’s next for both the team and the newsletter.

Recap: Courage v. Kansas City Current

Out of all of the NWSL quarterfinal matches, this was the one people were looking forward to the most, and it paid off. Both sides played a fun, wild game with their styles fully on display.

The staring lineup was finally the formidable we’ve been awaiting in the second half of this season, with Manaka Matsukubo, Aline Gomes and Kerolin Nicoli serving as the front three. International duties and minor injuries impeded this lineup in the past few games.

The Courage have had more than a few matches this season in which they took 15 minutes or so to find their footing against opponents. Unfortunately, this was one of those cases, and between a good steal and some even better luck, Kansas City put their lone goal on the board early.

A steal away from Denise O’Sullivan gave the Current the ball, who immediately booted it to Chawinga. She raced ahead and took an excellent shot, but Casey Murphy made the block. The ball bounced away and Michelle Cooper collected it and passed it to Debinha, who took another shot that hit the right post. Somehow, the ball magically rebounded to Chawinga, who took a third shot. Kaleigh Kurtz did an amazing job of putting herself in front of the ball but fell as she was blocking it and the ball bounced back … yet again … to Chawinga. At this point, with both Kurtz and Murphy down and nobody else helping, it was an easy shot in the net. Kurtz very nearly got a foot on it to deflect, an amazing heads up effort. Still, Kansas City had the early lead and the goal that ultimately won the match.

After that, the Courage were looking much better, and closed out the half strong. They kept testing the center of the pitch and not having much luck after an initial run. Eventually, Kerolin and Aline Gomes dropped back a bit, giving a little breathing room to the midfield. This strategy was extremely effective, and by the second half they were creating lanes all over the place, taking chance after chance.

In the end, the Courage couldn’t find an equalizer. There was a tense moment late in the match where Chawinga got in the way of Bianca St-Georges, and fell. St-Georges’ frustration boiled over, and she stood over Chawinga yelling at her, and KC defender Ellie Wheeler pushed St-Georges to the ground. The ref gave BSG and Wheeler both yellow cards.

In the end, this looked like a sharp squad – not the messy one we’ve occasionally seen in away matches this season. The Courage showed up, dictated the play style they wanted to execute, took a good amount of shots, and overall put on an outstanding and balanced performance.

While it wasn’t enough to move forward in the post-season, it did demonstrate what the team could look like at its full potential, something we’ve been waiting for all season. It was an entertaining match to wind down their uneven, but equally entertaining season.

Standout stats

In this match, the Courage finally found ways to take some shots. They posted 12 shots v. Kansas City’s 14, and 4 on target v. 5 from the Current. It demonstrated the smart, patient efforts the team is capable of building.

Look ahead

There are an enormous number of questions facing the Courage in the off season. Most notably, we haven’t had an update on the pending sale of the team. Questions remain about the potential priorities of a new owner and what investments, if any, they’re interested in making in the squad, coaching staff, stadium or training facilities.

Beyond that, 2023 league MVP Kerolin and starting midfielder Narumi Miura are both free agents, with no updates on their negotiations.

Adding to the uncertainty, the new collective bargaining agreement with the players has ended the college draft, as well as a planned expansion draft for Boston and the yet-to-be-announced 16th team.

All that to say this will be the final regular issue of The Lion’s Pitch for 2025, but we’ll be sure to hit your inbox as news hits critical mass.

Courage news and updates

• Kurtz was named to the NWSL’s best XI for October / November, and wow does she deserve that honor, especially after the incredible performance she turned in against Kansas City.

• Kurtz and Ashley Sanchez are both up for NWSL Defender of the Year and Midfielder of the Year, respectively. You can vote for your favorites here.

• Speaking of outstanding defenders, the Courage have renewed Ryan Williams through 2027. This was uplifting news heading into this week’s match, given Williams’ standout performances all season long.

• I would like to give a shout out to our Montanan allies, who know a good jersey when they see it:

Around the league and beyond

• Christine Sinclair marks the latest star to retire from the NWSL after the Portland Thorns loss this week.

• Orlando v. Kansas City, and Washington Spirit v. the Gothams … besides the obvious, what’s not to love about the NWSL semifinals? Admittedly, it’s a bit boring and anti-NWSL to have the top four teams reach the semifinals without one weird upset, but they’ve been so dominant throughout the season it’s hard not to be excited to see some titans to square off.

• Incredibly exciting news from the USWNT this week: midfielder Lily Yohannes agreed to play for Team USA moving forward, after having the option to also play for the Netherlands.

Finally, a huge thank you!

That’s a wrap for the 2024 season, our first ever as The Lion’s Pitch. We’ve had virtually no drop-off – you’ve stuck with us through it all, and I’m so grateful for all of the great feedback, comments, patience and support you’ve given us throughout the season.

We’ll be spending the offseason re-tooling some things for both the newsletter and podcast: thinking through some new opportunities for the 2025 season, freshening up our social media (we’ve already started posting over on BlueSky and have ambitions for Instagram) and more.

Thanks for everything, and, like the Courage, we’ll be back even stronger next season!

As always, you can get in touch with tips, suggestions, corrections and more: [email protected].

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