Match Recap: Courage Best Louisville in Commanding 5-1 Win
CARY, NC (Sept. 10, 2022) — In what was arguably one of their most complete performances of the season, the North Carolina Courage defeated Racing Louisville FC, 5-1, in front of their home crowd on Saturday night. Kerolin Nicoli and Debinha each tallied a brace during the match, and Tess Boade scored her first professional goal in her regular-season home debut to seal the dominant victory. Nadia Nadim registered the lone goal for Louisville.
In the opening minutes of the match, Courage midfielder Denise O’Sullivan split a pair of Louisville defenders to hit Kerolin Nicoli in stride. With several quick touches, the Brazilian international broke into the Racing box, threading a shot past goalkeeper Katie Lund to give the Courage the upper hand, 1-0. The goal was Kerolin Nicoli’s third of the season, coming on the heels of her return from the international break.
Later, in the 42nd minute, the Courage were awarded a free kick following a hard tackle on Kerolin Nicoli. Carson Pickett took the kick, lofting a ball into a scrum of players in the Louisville box. Initially headed out by a defender, the attempted clearance was intercepted by Kerolin Nicoli, who capitalized on the turnover to record braces in back-to-back matches and double the Courage lead.
The Courage found the net for a third time in the 56th minute as Kerolin Nicoli fed a slot pass to Debinha inside the Louisville box. Keeping composed under pressure, the midfielder slipped a shot past Lund to extend the North Carolina side’s lead to 3-0. Louisville later edged into the Courage lead as Nadim capitalized on a breakaway opportunity in the 72nd minute, bringing the scoreline to 3-1.
As the second half continued, the Courage collected a fourth and fifth goal, first earning a penalty kick in the 84th minute. Stepping up to the spot and converting the attempt, Debinha joined international teammate Kerolin Nicoli in recording a brace during tonight’s match. Scoring the Courage’s fifth and final goal of the match was Boade, who scored her first professional goal in style by burying a header at the back post on a service from Kerolin Nicoli.
Match Notes:
- Kerolin Nicoli scored her third and fourth goals of the season in tonight’s match, her second brace this season.
- Debinha scored two goals in tonight’s match, joining Kerolin Nicoli in adding a brace.
- With her brace, Kerolin Nicoli scored the 299th and 300th NWSL goals and has recorded braces in back-to-back games.
- Tess Boade made her regular season home debut in tonight’s match, also scoring her first professional goal.
Next Match: The North Carolina Courage will return to WakeMed Soccer Park to host Angel City on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. ET. Tickets to the match are available HERE, and the contest will be available to stream on Paramount+.
Box Score:
NC (4-4-2): Casey Murphy, Carson Pickett (Kiki Pickett – 86’), Abby Erceg, Kaleigh Kurtz, Merritt Mathias (Ryan Williams – 76’), Brianna Pinto (Meredith Speck – 85’), Denise O’Sullivan, Fuka Nagano, Debinha (Tess Boade – 84’), Kerolin Nicoli, Diana Ordóñez (Jaelene Daniels – 77’)
Subs Not Used: Katelyn Rowland, Katie Bowen, Brittany Ratcliffe, Rylee Baisden
LOU (4-4-2): Katie Lund, Gemma Bonner, Satara Murray, Julia Lester (Nealy Martin – 46’), Zaneta Wyne (Rebecca Holloway – 77’), Lauren Milliet, Jaelin Howell, Savannah DeMelo (Emina Ekic – 84’), Wang Shuang (Parker Goins – 90’), Nadia Nadim, Jessica McDonald
Subs Not Used: Jordyn Bloomer, Taylor Malham, Alex Chidiac, Kelsey Daughtery, Kirsten Davis
Score:
NC: 5
LOU: 1
Goals:
NC: Kerolin Nicoli – 9’, 41’, Debinha – 56’, 84’ (PK), Tess Boade – 90’
LOU: Nadia Nadim – 72’
Cautions:
NC: —
LOU: Julia Lester – 41’, Zaneta Wyne – 45+1
Ejections:
NC: —
LOU: —
