Match Recap: Courage Blank Racing Louisville FC on the Road, 3-0
LOUISVILLE, KY (June 4, 2022) — The North Carolina Courage earned their first win of the 2022 regular season Saturday night, topping Racing Louisville FC 3-0. The victory also marked the first clean sheet of the season for Courage keeper Casey Murphy, and featured goals from Kaleigh Kurtz, Diana Ordoñez and Debinha.
“We made some tweaks the last couple of days to the press,” Head Coach Sean Nahas said following the match. “I think that allowed us to win the ball higher up the field and give us a bit more success and establish who we want to be. … It hasn’t been an easy spell the last couple of weeks and their patience and trust has been tremendous and earned them these three points. I was really proud of the group and their complete 90-minute performance.” Defender Kaleigh Kurtz opened the scoring on the night, netting her first professional regular-season goal in just the fourth minute of action. Merritt Mathias stepped up to take a corner kick, sending the ball to the feet of Debinha, who sent a shot sailing to the head of Kurtz. “The coaches have been continuously putting me in the box on corners and free kicks, so I was really happy to get my head on one and score,” Kurtz said of her first NWSL regular-season goal. “You know, I think this is the first time we got our press right, from top to bottom,” Kurtz said of the full team effort. “So when the press is right, we’re able to get to the ball so much easier, and it makes the backline’s job so much easier — we’re able to break up the transition a lot more. It was very nice to get a clean sheet — I’m almost happier about the clean sheet than the goal.” Then, in the final seconds of first-half added time, Courage rookie Diana Ordoñez netted her second goal in as many games with a header off a cross from Merritt Mathias. Ordoñez scored her first professional, regular-season goal in the Courage’s last game, a 1-1 draw at the Houston Dash, becoming the second-youngest goal-scorer in NWSL history. “That was a mature goal for her,” Nahas said of Ordoñez’s goal. “She’s a baby, she’s 20 years old and has so much to learn, but she works her tail off and she wants to be great.” Casey Murphy, a standout in net on both the club and international level, earned her first clean sheet of 2022 with three saves and a clearance to boot. The keeper looks to break her personal and league record (shared with AD Franch of the Kansas City Current) of 11 clean sheets on the season.
Up Next: The North Carolina Courage round out their road swing with a trip to take on the Washington Spirit at Segra Field on Saturday, June 11, at 7 p.m. ET. The match will be streamed live on Paramount+ and Twitch (internationally).
Match Notes:
- Brianna Pinto earned her first professional regular-season start.
- Kaleigh Kurtz scored her first professional regular-season goal.
- Diana Ordoñez scored her second goal of the season, and now has goals in each of the last two games.
- Casey Murphy put up an outstanding performance to record her first clean sheet of the season.
- The Courage earned their first win of the season.
Box Score:
NC (4-4-2): Casey Murphy, Kaleigh Kurtz, Carson Pickett, Abby Erceg, Merritt Mathias (Ryan Williams — 83’), Malia Berkely (Jaelene Daniels — 83’), Denise O’Sullivan, Debinha, Diana Ordoñez (Jorian Baucom — 87’), Kerolin Nicoli (Taylor Smith — 83’), Brianna Pinto (Meredith Speck — 66’)
Subs Not Used: Katelyn Rowland, Katie Bowen, Emily Grey, Rylee Baisden
LOU (4-5-1) Katie Lund, Rebecca Holloway (Freja Olofsson — 54’), Julia Lester, Gemma Bonner, Emily Fox, Alexandra Chidiac (Emina Ekic — 67’), Jaelin Howell (Nealy Martin — 83’), Savannah DeMelo, Cecelia Kizer (Nadia Nadim — 67’), Lauren Millet (Ebony Salmon — 84’), Jessica McDonald
Subs Not Used:
Score:
NC: 3 LOU: 0
Goals:
NC: Kaleigh Kurtz (Debinha —3’), Diana Ordoñez (Merritt Mathias — 45+1’), Debinha (Taylor Smith — 90+1’) LOU: —
Cautions:
NC: Merritt Mathias — 75’ LOU: Savannah DeMelo — 53’
Ejections:
NC: — LOU: —
