With a third of the NWSL season completed we find ourselves at the end of an international break. The North Carolina Courage were pleased to have seven of our players competing all across the world for their respective countries. Lynn Williams, Sam Mewis, Abby Dahlkemper, Sabrina D’Angelo, Debinha, Rosana, and Ashley Hatch were all given the opportunity to represent their country. Our seven players across four teams combined for an undefeated record of 8W-1D-0L.
United States Women’s National Team
The US Women’s National Team return home from international duty after a successful tour of Scandinavia. The team played two friendly matches against Sweden and Norway in preparation for the inaugural Tournament of Nations that the US will host at the end of July. The USWNT’s first matchup was in Gothenburg, Sweden against the Swedish Women’s National Team. This was the 38th meeting of these two teams with the US holding a commanding all-time record of 21-6-11. An exciting first half saw multiple shots on goal by each team but the goalkeepers did their best to keep the game scoreless. That ended in the 54th minute when forward Crystal Dunn made a run up the middle and split the defense with a through ball on the right side to midfielder Rose Lavelle. Then Lavelle calmly slotted the ball past the goalie and off the right post for her second goal in only five caps. The second matchup for the USWNT came against their historic rival Norway. This meeting was the 50thinstallment of the US-Norway series with the US leading 29-19-2 all-time. The US has scored 93 total goals against Norway, but Norway has also scored the most goals against the US of any country with 61 goals all time. This game was a mirror image of the previous match that the US played against Sweden. A tightly contested first half went to halftime scoreless, but the US once again changed that. USWNT captain Becky Sauerbrunn launched a pass from in front of the halfway line to a streaking Christen Press. Press used a single touch to lace the ball past the falling Norwegian goalkeeper. This match featured only two shots on goal with one coming from each team. A strong defensive backline for the US kept the Norwegian attack in check. NC Courage defender Abby Dahlkemper received her first start in her fourth cap while Courage teammate Sam Mewis started both matches for the team and played all 180 minutes. Captain Becky Sauerbrunn earned her 126th international cap which places her at 25th on the USWNT all-time caps list. Christen Press’s goal adds to her impressive mark of 42 goals in only 87 international caps.
Canadian Women’s National Team
The Canadian National Team hosted a three-match Summer of Soccer Series in Canada featuring a double-header against Costa Rica for the women’s team and a match against Curaçao for the men’s team. Canada’s first leg against Costa Rica was played in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Canada put themselves on the board instantly by way of a Jessie Fleming from a Christine Sinclair assist. Sinclair added a penalty in the 52nd minute. Costa Rica crawled their way back into the match with a 56th minute goal by Diana Saenz, but Canada sealed the win after scoring for a third time in stoppage time. This 3-1 victory gave the team great momentum going into the second leg of this matchup. The second match was held at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and held more significance than most matches due to the fact that five members of the 2015 Bronze Medal squad announced their retirement, as well as former team captain Amy Walsh’s induction into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame. Canada dominated this game from the opening whistle after young star Deanne Rose opened up the scoring in the 2nd minute. Janine Beckie then proceeded to score a first half hat-trick (6’, 13’, 21’) that gave Canada a 4-0 lead at halftime. Jordyn Huitema then completed the rout with two goals in two minutes to give Canada the historic 6-0 home win against Costa Rica.
Brazilian Women’s National Team
The Brazilian Women’s National Team played two friendly matches against Spain and Iceland over the international break. These friendlies are preparation for Euro 2017 for Iceland and Spain while Brazil is preparing for the Tournament of Nations at the end of July. Brazil got off to a rough start in its first match against Spain as a penalty was given up in the 21st minute to give Spain a 1-0 halftime lead. Brazil made three subs at halftime that included NC Courage’s Debinha. Brazil came out of halftime with an attacking mindset which paid off in the 77th minute when Darlene found the back of the net after a one-on-one with the Spanish goalkeeper. Brazil then took the lead in the 88th minute with a header by Rafaelle. Brazil’s second match was a 1-0 victory over a tough Iceland squad. Debinha and the Brazilian team tested the Icelandic defense from the first whistle. They forced multiple shots on goal including two from Debinha. Iceland countered this with several runs into the attacking third but couldn’t materialize those chances into solid shots on goal. Brazil went into halftime with the score 0-0 but that all changed when Marta received a through ball into the box and buried the first goal of the game in the 68th minute. NC Courage’s Rosana came into the match for Debinha in the second half and saw Brazil lock in the 1-0 victory.
United States Women’s U-23 National Team
The US U-23 Women’s National Team travelled to Sweden over the international break to compete in the U-23 Four-Nations Nordic Tournament. The other three countries competing against the US were Sweden, Norway, and England. The US first opponent was a June 6th matchup against Norway. It was a tightly contested match until midfielder Jaelin Howell broke the tie with a headed goal off of a free kick in the 71st minute. 16-year-old forward Sophia Smith doubled the lead two minutes later and Defender Kaleigh Riehl sealed the outcome with another header in the 82nd minute. This game marked the first cap and first goal for all three scorers with the U-23 women’s national team. The second match in the tournament was a matchup against the England U-23 where the teams played to a 0-0 draw. Despite the US placing six of seven shots on goal, English goalkeeper Sophie Baggaley denied the US of a vital three points. The third and final match for the US came against the home team Sweden. First half goals by Jaelin Howell and NC Courage’s own Ashley Hatch gave the US a 2-0 halftime lead. Sweden was able to get goal back in the second half but the US defense was able to hold off the Swedish attack and secure the 2-1 result. While the US U-23 team finished the three game tournament 2-1-0, they ended up in second place on goal difference to England. The next international break will be at the end of July when the USWNT hosts the Tournament of Nations. This tournament will be from July 27th to August 3rd and will be a round-robin format featuring Australia, Brazil, Japan, and the US. This is a new tournament that US Soccer plans to host every summer that there is not a World Cup or Olympic Games. Our international stars and their North Carolina Courage teammates will return to Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday, June 17th at 7:30 p.m. to defend their first-place spot as they take on the Boston Breakers. Click here to purchase your tickets, or call the box office at 919-459-8144.
