Cary, N.C. (July 5, 2019) – The North Carolina Courage tied and broke records in Friday night’s 5-2 victory over the Houston Dash at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park behind Kristen Hamilton’s four-goal performance.
With the win, the Courage improved to 5W-2L-4D (19 points), picking up their second consecutive win.
Hamilton, just over a month removed from a hat trick at Orlando, tied the NWSL single-game record with her four goals, two coming in each half as the Courage scored five goals for the second time this season. Hamilton, who is now second in the NWSL with seven goals this season, is the first player in Courage history to score three-plus goals twice in a season.
“It was good,” Hamilton said. “I think it was a good performance overall by the team. Everybody worked really hard and stuck to the gameplan.”
Hamilton’s third goal of the night, a 54th-minute strike, was set up by forward Lynn Williams, who set the NWSL all-time assist record with the 23rd of her career.
“Tonight, we put the ball in the net,” NC Courage head coach Paul Riley said. “Hamilton was on fire, and when she was injured last week, not available, that hurt us a lot. I figured as soon as she got back in training, straight away we thought we could put her back in.”
The Courage were ready to go from kickoff and opened up the scoring in the fifth minute as right back Merritt Mathias played in a curling ball from the right flank that Hamilton put away with a sliding kick.
Thirteen minutes later, it was the Courage’s other outside back, Jaelene Hinkle, who set up Hamilton’s second goal of the night, an 18th-minute effort that came after Hamilton smartly cut to the inside of the 18-yard-box.
After the Dash pulled a goal back in the 24th minute through Kristie Mewis – the sister of the Courage’s Sam Mewis – Williams restored the Courage’s two-goal lead with a strike in the 31st minute, her fourth of the season.
The Courage’s lead was trimmed to one going into the halftime break with a Houston goal by Kyah Simon in the 43rd minute, but a dominant second-half performance confirmed victory for the home team.
The pass that would become Williams’ record-breaking assist came to Hamilton in the 54th minute, who received it with her back turned to goal before faking inside, spinning and finishing from close range.
Having already earned her second hat trick of the season, Hamilton tacked on her fourth goal in the 71st minute, a left-footed shot that beat Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell to the near post, making it a 5-2 game.
That ended up being the final scoreline, as the Courage won by three-plus goals for the fourth time this season.
Fact to Know
The Courage have yet to lose to the Dash, going 6W-0L-1D since 2017.
**Notes
–** Kristen Hamilton’s seven goals are the second-most in the NWSL this season.
– With their assists Friday night, Jaelene Hinkle and Lynn Williams both have four on the season, tied for the most in the NWSL. Williams’ assist was the 23rd of her career, breaking the NWSL record.
– Rookie midfielder Lauren Milliet made her professional debut, coming on as a substitute out of halftime. Forward Julia Spetsmark and midfielder Meredith Speck also appeared as second-half substitutes.
– The Courage lead the NWSL with 24 goals, 18 of which have been assisted, also a league-high.
– With the win, the Courage remained unbeaten at home, improving to 2W-0L-4D.
Up Next
The Courage stay at home and host Reign FC on Saturday, July 13, at 7 p.m. The last time the two teams met in Cary in April 2018, the Courage won 1-0 on a second-half goal by Jessica McDonald.
**Box Score
NCC (4-4-2):** Katelyn Rowland; Jaelene Hinkle; Kaleigh Kurtz, Cari Roccaro, Merritt Mathias; Debinha (Meredith Speck, 84’), Denise O’Sullivan, McCall Zerboni ©, Leah Pruitt (Lauren Milliet,, 46’); Lynn Williams, Kristen Hamilton (Julia Spetsmark, 75’)
**
Subs not used:** Steph Labbé, McKenzie Meehan, Ally Haran, Ryan Williams
HOU (4-3-3): Jane Campbell; Allysha Chapman (Lindsay Agnew, 65’), Clare Polkinghorne, Amber Brooks, Satara Murray; Sophie Schmidt, Haley Hanson, Kristie Mewis; Christine Nairn (Cami Privett, 77’), Kealia Ohai © (Sofia Huerta, 65’), Kyah Simon
**
Subs not used:** Bianca Henninger, Arianna Romero, Cece Kizer, Ariana Calderon
**
Score:**
NCC: 3
HOU: 2
**
Goals:**
NCC: Kristen Hamilton (Merritt Mathias, 5’, Jaelene Hinkle 18’, Lynn Williams, 54’, Debinha 71’), Lynn Williams (Denise O’Sullivan, 31’)
HOU: Kristie Mewis (Kyah Simon, 24’), Kyah Simon (Sophie Schmidt, 43’)
Cautions:
NCC: —
HOU: Sophie Schmidt 53’, Haley Hanson 69’
**
Ejections:**
NCC: —
HOU: —
**
Attendance:** 5,066
