SEATTLE (Oct. 1, 2023) — The North Carolina Courage played to a 1-1 draw with OL Reign on a chilly Sunday evening at Lumen Field. The Courage earned a point in their penultimate road match and sit in fourth place in the NWSL standings (29 points, 8W-7L-5D) with two matches to play. The Courage, who played the full second half up a player, out-shot the Reign 24-5, including a 7-2 edge in shots on target, held 69% of possession and passed at 86% accuracy while earning nine corners compared to the Reign’s three. A brilliant build in the 3’ gave the Courage a chance to take the lead. Manaka played Tess Boade through, and she slid the ball across the front of goal where Kerolin Nicoli got her outside foot to it, but the one-time carom glanced off the post. OL Reign got on the board in the 21’ when the Courage were forced to defend one of the corners short-handed. Kaleigh Kurtz was deemed to have blood that needed to be covered and sent to the sideline, allowing the set piece to find Bethany Balcer’s head off a Megan Rapinoe insert. The Courage responded at the end of the half when Kerolin beat the Reign keeper to the ball 30 yards from goal, chipped to herself, and beat a defender with a simple pass into the back of the net. The VAR called for a check for a possible offside and a lengthy review ensued, but the original call of a good goal would stand. The goal was the 10th of the season for Kerolin, moving her to sole possession of second place in the Golden Boot race. Moments later, the Courage broke a counter off a Reign corner, with Manaka lofting the ball ahead for Kerolin on a breakaway. Alana Cook swept out Kerolin’s leg just before the penalty area, garnering a straight red card for a denial of a goal scoring opportunity. The free kick from just outside the box was blocked by the wall, and the half would finish even, but the Courage took the player advantage into the break. The Courage came out of the half on the front foot, generating a pair of shots on target in the first three minutes of the second period. The Courage would have some more dangerous looks at goal, including a shot from Manaka that rang off the crossbar in the 75’ and moments later Kerolin would send a shot just over that same bar. Another brilliant chance came in the 82’ when Emily Fox led the charge down field and slipped the ball through for Haley Hopkins, but her shot was saved.

Match Notes

Next Match: The Courage return to WakeMed Soccer Park for their regular season home finale this Saturday, October 7, when they host the San Diego Wave. Nearing the first regular season sell-out in club history, limited tickets are available here. The match will stream live on Paramount+.

Box Score:

NCC (4-3-3): Casey Murphy, Emily Fox, Sydney Collins, Kaleigh Kurtz, Ryan Williams, Narumi Miura, Denise O’Sullivan ©, Tyler Lussi (Mille Gejl – 65’), Manaka Matsukubo, Kerolin, Tess Boade (Haley Hopkins – 72’)

Subs Not Used: Katelyn Rowland, Brianna Pinto, Brittany Ratcliffe, Rikke Madsen, Frankie Tagliaferri, Kiki Pickett, Victoria Pickett

RGN (4-3-3): Claudia Dickey, Lauren Barnes ©, Phoebe McClernon, Alana Cook (red card – 45+6’), Shae Holmes (Veronica Latsko – 71’), Olivia Van der Jagt (Quinn – 88’), Nikki Stanton, Emily Sonnett, Megan Rapinoe, Bethany Balcer (Jordyn Huitema – 72’), Jess Fishlock (Angelina – 90+3’)

Subs Not Used: Laurel Ivory, Olivia Athens, Sam Hiatt, Tzarria King, Elyse Bennett

Score:

NCC: 1

RGN: 1

Goals:

NCC: Kerolin Nicoli – 43’

RGN: B. Balcer – 21’ (Rapinoe)

Cautions:

NCC: Manaka – 89’

RGN: N. Stanton – 67’

Ejections:

NCC: –

RGN: A. Cook – 45+6’

Attendance: 10,345