A royal victory, Speck returns and Houston preview

We did it, Courage Country! We posted a 1-0 victory over the Utah Royals, a welcome relief from tough road losses. But don’t get too comfortable, we’re on the road again this week in Houston.

Otherwise, there’s plenty of interesting Courage news out this week, so let’s get to it!

Recap: Courage v. Utah Royals

The Courage were entirely in control of the match against Utah, as you’ll see from our standout stats. While the 1-0 score was low compared to our 3.24 xG, Utah didn’t put up much of a fight with only three total shots.

The goal, scored by defender Kaleigh Kurtz, was a lot of fun, and to really appreciate it, we should take a look at the prior attack.

Right back Ryan Williams was a menace all night, racing up field, connecting perfect passes and using impeccable ball control to dodge defenders. Some fancy footwork from her and forward Hayley Hopkins on the previous effort meant defenders were struggling to guard them both.

On the scoring attack, Kurtz made a smart run forward to assist Hopkins with some ball control, and give Williams a bit of a break. But Kurtz was forced to pass out wide to Ashley Sanchez.

Sanchez kicked a great cross to the middle, a bit high for midfielder Brianna Pinto, but that didn’t stop Pinto. She performed an acrobatic high kick to bring the ball down right in front of the goal – and a perfectly positioned Kurtz.

So Kurtz took the shot, which went straight through the legs of keeper Mandy Haught.

There’s so much to shout out for the Courage squad this week, including repeated presses from Hopkins, another clean sheet for keeper Casey Murphy, and a dominant midfield.

Substitutions came late, but we did see some interesting choices. Riley Jackson subbed in for Manaka at the 73’ mark. And in an incredibly warm moment for the team and for fans, Meredith Speck returned after recovering from an ACL tear in the 2023 season, subbing in for Sanchez at 90+4’. Kurtz, wearing the captain’s armband in Denise O’Sullivan’s absence, handed the band to Speck when she came on the pitch.

As Katie and I discuss on tomorrow’s podcast, this felt like a much-needed win, and a confidence boost ahead of yet another road match next week in Houston.

Underrated Play

Pinto just helping herself to the ball, wheeling away from another defender and working it back to Rauch for the clear.

Standout stats

Stats via FotMob and The Athletic.

Look ahead: Courage v. Houston Dash

Both Houston and the Courage look like different squads since their first matchup, a 5-1 victory in our favor. Since then, María Sánchez was traded to San Diego, and Houston acquired Paige Nielsen, as well as Brazilian defender Tarciane, who has yet to play.

For now, Houston has been playing three defenders, a heavy midfield rotation, and former Courage player Diana Ordóńez out front. While Nielsen has played well and helped Houston’s defense, it remains a weakness.

Houston has also had the misfortune of having game delay after game delay due to weather this season, an echo of the 2023 match against the Courage that got rained out. The Courage eventually were awarded the win.

As for the Courage side, we’re still looking for a road win in the 2024 season, and the extent of captain Denise O’Sullivan’s knee injury remains unclear. Let’s hope we can claim a point or 3 on this trip.

Courage news and updates

• It’s international call-up time! There’s extra scrutiny on this iteration of the USWNT squad, as new head coach Emma Hayes has fully assumed the reins from interim Twila Kilgore.

  • Keeper Casey Murphy will head to the June camp to face Korea in some friendlies; it will be interesting to see how she’s utilized with usual starter Alyssa Naeher recovering from an injury. Under previous coaches Kilgore and Vlatko Andonovski, Murphy was a frequently rotated in with Naeher.

  • Defender Feli Rauch was called up for Euro qualifiers against Poland.

  • Riley Jackson was called up to the USYNT U-20 for their matches against Korea.

• And … speaking of Riley Jackson, she graduated high school! A big congrats to her. What an exciting week!

• Ahead of the Utah match, Amazon Prime did a short video focusing on the fast friendship that developed between Courage captain Denise O’Sullivan and midfielder Narumi. Check it out!

• Tyler Trent did a terrific analysis of Malia Berkely’s growth in the NWSL for TopBin90: How versatility and work ethic have made Malia Berkely an elite player in the NWSL.

• Alicia Rodriguez at The Equalizer published an interview with Sean Nahas, discussing his disappointment at the Courage not being included in the Concacaf W Champions Cup (subscription required).

• As part of his partnership with StatsBomb, Andre Carlisle took a look at four players that might fit our forward needs since the Nikita Parris deal fell through, positing that some lesser-known names might suit our culture best anyway (free subscription required).

• The Courage announced four players joining their women’s squad entering The Soccer Tournament, the fun 7v7 event hosted at WakeMed June 7 & 8. These players will join Courage Club Ambassador Jessica McDonald’s squad:

Around the league and beyond

• NJ / NY Gotham’s Lynn Williams broke the NWSL scoring record, 79 goals in all competitions, the majority of which came when she played with the Courage!

• Kansas City and Orlando remain undefeated, but don’t sleep on Portland, who has won every match since their coaching change and hit #4 on the table this week.

• We now have all eight USL Super League team names and branding, pulled together here by Jeff Kassouf. Ascent is still the best. Go NC.

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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