Gold star win over Red Stars, Kerolin gets a goal, and a look ahead to San Diego rematch

The Courage won, and they did it in style in Chicago on Sunday. The 3-1 victory over the Red Stars put us just one win away from clinching a playoff spot, and we remain solidly in fifth on the table.

Let’s take a quick look at the match, the spectacular goals, and what to expect from a regrouped San Diego.

Recap: Courage v. Chicago Red Stars

The Courage came roaring out of the gate, ready to face the Red Stars and dictating the tempo of the game start to finish. If we’d closed out the previous week a little stronger, these back-to-back games make me think this team is close to top form at a good point in the season.

Around 15’ in, Ashley Sanchez and Brianna Pinto repeated their magic connection, with Pinto scoring a goal. It was ~technically~ attributed as an own goal to Chicago defender Cari Roccaro, but it was well earned on the side of the Courage.

Unfortunately, Pinto sustained a gnarly-looking injury following the goal, and Olivia Wingate subbed on early. It’s unclear at the time of publication if that was simply a precaution or if there’s a more serious issue with Pinto.

The next goal was a stunner, certain to be part of the Courage highlight reel for a long time to come. Sanchez was trying to create some space near the goal, and midfielder Bea Franklin was pacing her all the way to the sideline. The obvious thing to do was try to force a throw-in, but Sanchez stuck with the play. Then did a backheel nutmeg!!! 😱😍

She fired off a pass to Tyler Lussi, who had a decent angle at the goal. Instead of taking a shot, Lussi surprised everyone with a quick pass to captain Denise O’Sullivan, who buried a high goal.

For your (repeated) viewing pleasure:

And if the goals couldn’t get any better, the third one was just as sweet. Malia Berkely made a high run that scattered Chicago everywhere, then passed to Olivia Wingate. She had a beautifully timed cross to 2023 League MVP Kerolin Nicoli, who is getting more playing time. Kerolin did a nifty little slide and punched it under the hands of keeper Alyssa Naeher.

Shortly after that, Chicago defender Taylor Malham got a pass up to forward Ludmila da Silva, who rocketed upfield and sailed a banger over the fingertips of Casey Murphy. It was a difficult shot to block, but the Courage had stopped those quick runs all match. Given how quickly we sagged against Louisville last week, fans were on edge.

Thankfully, stoppage time was short, and the game ended with the 3-1 score line.

USWNT head coach Emma Hayes was watching as part of a tour of NWSL games, so it was a great win to showcase so much of our unsung talent, including Ryan Williams and Kaleigh Kurtz having outstanding defensive plays the whole game. And can anyone really sleep on Sanchez at this point?

Underrated Play

With all the scoring going on, you could almost be forgiven for overlooking these ridiculously awesome moves from Kurtz.

Almost.

Standout stats

Stats from Fotmob, OptaJack and NC Courage.

Look ahead: Courage v. San Diego Wave

We played the Wave just a month ago and became the enemies of NWSL fans everywhere with a resounding 4-1 thumping during Alex Morgan’s final game. Not only that, keeper Kaileen Sheridan was issued a red card during the match.

San Diego will likely be in better form this time around, having won 3 out of their last 4 matches (though in the podcast, Katie was quick to point out opponent quality wasn’t superb). Still, they seem to be on an upswing under interim coach Landon Donovan.

For the Courage’s part, we should expect Riley Jackson and Manaka Matsukubo back from the U-20 World Cup, and Kerolin is picking up more minutes. Bianca St-Georges started the previous matchup with San Diego, and played extremely well. And while we don’t have official word on Cortnee Vine, she was practicing with the team this week in social media posts.

So the starting front line will be a free-for-all and is anyone’s guess. But we have plenty of depth and have played well at home this season. Also! The marketing department has focused specifically on this match, offering an array of specials and discount seats in an effort to sell out the stadium. The energy should be high!

Courage news and updates

• Our hearts go out to those affected by Hurricane Helene, and we know the impacts will be felt for a long time to come. Please consider adding support to the relief effort.

  • The Courage are officially partnering with the United Way. Portions of ticket sales, concessions and merch will be donated, and fans can give directly or through donation stations at Saturday’s match. More info here.

  • The Uproar has a thread of organizations doing on-the-ground updates and support.

Around the league and beyond

• Sportico released new NWSL valuations. Overall, team values were up an average of 57%, most notably Kansas City skewing the average high.

  • The Courage are in a good spot at #7, valued at $91m. This is a little under the previously reported $108m valuation considered for the potential sale, also reported by Sportico.

  • Noteworthy is Bay FC listed at 4th, and pulling in a reported $22m in revenue this year for a total valuation of $121m.

• Also, Houston Dash parted ways with head coach Fran Alonso. Nobody seems to have an inside track, but here’s Jeff Kassouf’s piece so you can get the basics. Interim coach Ricky Clarke will be Houston’s 9th coach in 10 years.

That’s it for this week! As always, you can get in touch with tips, suggestions, corrections and more: [email protected].

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