CARY, N.C. – The NC Courage had to come back from an early deficit to draw 1-1 with Utah Royals FC on Sunday afternoon at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. Elizabeth Eddy scored late in the game after the Courage went down early with a goal by Amy Rodriguez.
With the draw, the NC Courage retains fourth place in the NWSL Standings with nine points and a record of 2W-1L-3D.
"The second half was great," said NC Courage Head Coach Paul Riley. "We've got to start the first half like that and play the whole game like that. The first 25 minutes, we didn't get out of the gates at all. We let them dictate the tempo of the game and they want to slow down and knock the ball around. They controlled the first 25, and after that, we got a grip on the game. We upped the tempo and we were the much better team - 18 shots to 2 in the game. It was total second-half dominance, but we didn't finish our chances again. Same old, same old. I think it's three home games out of four where we said we didn't finish our chances. I think we've had more chances in this game than the Orlando game which we won pretty comfortably. We've got to put our chances away, but second half the effort was brilliant. I told the players if we start 1-nil down every game, we'd be really good, cause the second-half effort was brilliant."
Utah Royals FC have historically been a difficult test for the NC Courage, and today was no different. The visitors gained an early lead in the contest. A string of four one-touch passes cut through the Courage defense before Rodriguez snuck her shot past Courage goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland and into the back of the net.
Lynn Williams nearly provided the response immediately, but her shot skewed just wide of the post after speeding past the Utah backline to catch up to a through ball. The Courage kept pressure high, but couldn’t find the equalizer before halftime.
Out of the break, the Courage's general style of play continued, as the side held possession in front of the Utah goal and searched for an equalizer.
After being subbed on in the 68th minute, Eddy provided a much-needed spark for the Courage offense.
Williams broke away in the 72nd minute when Eddy fed a through ball down the right sideline. Williams dribbled into a one-on-one with Utah goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, but Williams’ shot was saved.
The equalizer finally came in the 78th minute when Eddy scored the first goal of her Courage career. The midfielder received a pass from Debinha and blasted a volley to the far post. The assist was the first of the year for Debinha.
Despite having the better of play in the final minutes, a final goal wasn’t on the cards and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Up Next:
The North Carolina Courage will travel to Tacoma, Washington for the first time this season in a Memorial Day matchup with Reign FC on Monday, May 27 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Notes:
Courage regulars, Stephanie Labbe, Abby Dahlkemper, Sam Mewis, Jessica McDonald and Crystal Dunn were out of the lineup due to international duty.
Elizabeth Eddy made her season debut, entering as a substitute in the 68th minute. She scored the first goal of her Courage career – an equalizer in the 78th minute.
Debinha recorded her first assist of the season, providing the cross on Eddy’s tally.
Former NC Courage player Makenzy Doniak made her first trip back to Cary and entered the game in the 73rd minute.
Box Score:
NCC (4-4-2 Box): Katelyn Rowland; Jaelene Hinkle, Abby Erceg ©, Kaleigh Kurtz, Merritt Mathias; Debinha, McCall Zerboni, Cari Roccaro (Liz Eddy, 69’), Denise O’Sullivan; Lynn Williams, Kristen Hamilton (Julia Spetsmark, 58’)
Subs not used: Sam Leshnak, Heather O’Reilly, Leah Pruitt, Ryan Williams, Meredith Speck
UTA (4-4-2): Nicole Barnhart ©; Becca Moros (Makenzy Doniak, 73’), Sam Johnson (Gaby Vincent, 46’), Rachel Corsie, Katie Bowen; Mandy Laddish (Mallory Weber, 82’), Lo’eau LaBonta, Veronica Boquette, Gunny Jonsdottir; Amy Rodriguez, Katie Stengel
Subs not used: Abby Smith, Erika Tymrak, Michelle Maemone, Raisa Strom-Okimoto
Score:
NCC: 1
UTA: 1
Goals:
NCC: Liz Eddy (Debinha, 78’)
UTA: Amy Rodriguez (Veronica Boquette, 8’)
Cautions:
NCC: --
UTA: Amy Rodriguez 40’
Ejections:
NCC: --
UTA: --
Attendance: 4,821
