Vine Time has officially arrived at WakeMed Soccer Park.
The Matildas’ World Cup hero officially introduced herself to the Courage Country faithful with a stellar game-tying goal in her WakeMed Soccer Park debut to help give the Courage an important three points in the NWSL playoff push. (Recap).
Vine collected a pass from Haley Hopkins inside the box and, faced up against two Current defenders, shifted the ball with the outside of her foot to gain an inch of space and curl home a sensational goal in the second half Sunday afternoon.
“Haley did a great job of holding up the ball and playing it to me. In the box, everyone is desperate to block a goal, so you have a bit more time than you think. Honestly, I feel like in the moment, what you practice in training takes over,” Vine said.
The Australian forward, who the Courage signed in the Secondary Transfer Window, made her NWSL debut in Seattle a week earlier, popping up with some dangerous moments in the 1-0 road loss including the team’s best chance of the night, sliding the ball across goal that was inches away from finding a teammate’s foot. Against the Current however, Vine started the game in the No. 9 role before shifting back out wide and Hopkins going central to set up the goal.
“I thought it was a great little finish from Cort. It is tough to come back after halftime for a player like Cort because she is a sprinter. You could see her legs were a little bit dead, but I thought her performance overall was dynamic. It was a world class finish and that is why she is with us. A lot for her to build off,” Courage Head Coach Sean Nahas said.
The pre-match announcement of Vine in the starting XI drew a roar from the 6,003 members of Courage Country, the second-largest crowd of the season, who braved the sweltering heat and were rewarded as eyewitnesses to the official launch of Vine Time in the NWSL.
“It was amazing to get my debut here at home. It was a bit different to make my debut on the away trip, but having the crowd here and the community around us, hearing the drums and cheering every time we got the ball and went forward really helped. It is a fortress for a reason,” Vine said.
The battle for playoff position is coming into the home stretch, with just eight games remaining in the regular season, so the arrival of midseason reinforcements like Vine, fellow Aussie Charlotte McLean, Brazilian forward Aline Gomes (who also made her club debut Sunday), and former UNC Tar Heel Maycee Bell couldn’t come at a better time as the Courage push for playoff positioning.
The Courage are back on the road next week, taking on the San Diego Wave on Sunday, September 8, at 8 p.m. ET and the team is back home the following week to take on expansion side Bay FC on Friday, September 13, at 7 p.m. ET. Tickets for that match are available here.
