Nahas out, Houston loss, Portland next

Phew. Sports can be a wild ride, and this was a week of low lows.

As everyone with even a passing interest in the NWSL knows by now, the Courage terminated the contract of Head Coach Sean Nahas with a cryptic two-sentence announcement that elicited rampant speculation among fans. The players managed to show up reasonably well under the circumstances, but still lost a heartbreaker at 90’ + 5’ in Houston.

Where else to start but with the ousting of Nahas? Two things stood out here.

First was the speed: Nahas did a radio interview last Wednesday morning, posted a selfie with the team in the afternoon, and was released by evening. As many people have pointed out, if this had been a strategic move by the club, he likely would have been let go during the international break to let the news settle and maybe even talk to a few replacement possibilities before the season resumed.

Second was the terseness of the post (and matching press release). Even a forced-posturing-let’s-call-this-“amicable” departure usually includes some acknowledgment of the coach’s achievements and a vague well-wish for their next endeavor; I used Angel City’s midseason firing of Freya Coombe as a reference point on this week’s podcast. The Courage didn’t acknowledge Nahas’ 2 Challenge Cup victories, 7 years with the squad, and more than 3 years as Head Coach. He assumed the role under difficult circumstances. The prior coach had been let go after an abuse scandal tied him to a trail of sexual coercion issues across multiple clubs, leaving the Courage with years of healing to do.

Following a combative press conference in which little was revealed about the reasons behind the termination, the firing became a Rorschach test for fans.

Some suspected it was yet another case of a top figure abusing their position — a reasonable concern, given the league’s history of leaders engaging in various forms of abuse. Others have pointed to the lackluster performance of the team (5 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses at the time of the firing) and felt it was the “obvious” factor, overlooking the team’s relatively improved form in the last few matches, along with a decent shot at making the playoffs again. It’s not a championship-caliber showing, but that context begs the question, why now? Still others recognized Nahas’ reputation for being gruff, and wondered if he’d overstepped in some way.

The bottom line is that we don’t really know much. After the Houston match, the Courage added this statement: “The termination stemmed from a combination of compounding performance issues, culture issues, and a perceived lack of fit, that created an environment that club leadership felt was untenable to the point that change was necessary at the head coaching position.”

So. Onward we go. Assistant coach Nathan Thackery will be serving as Acting Head Coach in the interim, and the search for a permanent replacement begins.

Irrespective of the rationale for dismissing Nahas, the squad does need a spark right now. If the Courage make a great hire, it could mean attracting more talent, reconfiguring the team’s formation and bringing some joy and energy to the current players.

We’ll be covering it all here, and on the podcast. We tried to lighten a difficult week with some fun speculation about potential hires and timing, you can decide if we succeeded.

Recap: Courage v. Houston Dash

With all of the noise going on, even professional players could be forgiven for having a difficult road match. Instead, we got a solid back-and-forth effort against the Dash. Easily, the shining moment of the match was 19-year-old defensive midfielder Riley Jackson stone cold staring down former USWNT keeper Jane Campbell and sinking a penalty kick.

That came after midfielder Jaedyn Shaw was fouled just inside the box. Initially ruled a simple foul, the VAR gods intervened, and Jackson took the penalty kick.

My goodness.

Unfortunately, Houston also has midfielders. Including Jamaican national team player Kiki Van Zanten, who equalized just 8 minutes later. It was a strange moment preceding the goal, as the Courage fouled Houston, but the ref allowed the advantage. Most players on both sides of the ball slowed, waiting for the whistle. Van Zanten was the first to recover, and with no defenders stepping to her, sailed a banger of a shot past keeper Casey Murphy. Murphy really had no hopes of stopping the goal; if there’s blame to be had, it’s on the defense.

The match fizzled a bit on both sides in the second half, but Houston gained momentum toward the end. Ultimately, Sophie Schmidt finally put it away in stoppage time. The goal came off a bad throw in from the Courage, marking the end of an ugly week.

Look ahead: Courage v. Portland Thorns

Portland improved to 7-4-4 this week, stomping Seattle in a “backyard” rivalry 4-2. I’d really rather not see Portland put up 4 points the week before the Courage face them, but here we are.

Thankfully, it’s a home match, and no doubt with an actual full week to prepare, Thackery will have the squad on better footing. One of the underrated story lines of this season has been the work ethic of this Courage squad, and their willingness to play hard week to week, despite more than a few disappointing last-minute losses.

As our resident analyst, Katie points out in this week’s podcast that Bella Bixby might be ready to regain her keeper position, having returned from maternity leave for a few matches now. And the Thorns have moved Jessie Fleming to her more natural position, which has been working their favor. It’s a tough midfield and tough front line, but we’ve seen the Courage step their game up against quality opponents all season.

Around the league and beyond

Hey look at that! Other teams had good news this week! We can end on a positive note!

• Bethany Balcer is back! The Racing Louisville forward took a mental health break, and has returned to the squad.

• And Boston continues building their team out, signing former UNC player Aleigh Gambone.

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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