Tag: Brianna Pinto

NC Courage, Racing Louisville into 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup final

A long-standing contender and a first-time finalist will meet in Saturday’s Challenge Cup final

The battle for the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup is down to the North Carolina Courage and Racing Louisville.

North Carolina will host Saturday’s final, as both lower-seeded sides went on the road to win semifinals over the Kansas City Current and OL Reign, respectively.

Kickoff on Saturday is set for 12:30 p.m. ET. CBS will broadcast the game over the air, while Paramount+ is the streaming option.

North Carolina sealed a second straight home Challenge Cup final thanks to a dramatic 1-0 win at Children’s Mercy Park, where Brianna Pinto fired home a stoppage-time winner.

After largely dominating the first half, the Courage found the going more difficult as Kansas City — who started with an uncharacteristically conservative approach — started to high-press after the break.

That expansive change resulted in both teams finding golden looks. The Courage somehow survived a wild scramble in their goalmouth after a corner, with two Current shot attempts striking goalkeeper Casey Murphy while she was on the ground, and Narumi Miura — possibly the smallest player on the field — blocking a third.

At the other end, North Carolina couldn’t quite find the target from promising positions, with Kerolin, Tess Boade, and especially substitute Mille Gejl not able to produce a finish.

That set the stage for Pinto, whose energetic appearance off the bench was capped off with a goal on the turn six minutes into stoppage time.

On the west coast, a different sort of game played out. Laura Harvey understandably opted for a heavily-rotated side after playing Sunday night, while Louisville (benefitting from an extra day’s rest) came out close to full strength.

The Reign’s relatively unfamiliar lineup may have contributed to the concession of the first and only goal the team gave up in this Challenge Cup. It was simple stuff: Sam Hiatt’s misplaced pass went right to Kirsten Davis, who used a slick move to set up a pinpoint shot past goalkeeper Laurel Ivory.

Louisville could have possibly found a second, but as the game wore on OL Reign did everything but score. Chance after chance fell their way, perhaps none better than two normal starters (Emily Sonnett and Jordyn Huitema) linking up after a half-cleared ball into the box.

Sonnett’s delivery couldn’t have been better, but Huitema wasn’t able to snap the ball down past Katie Lund.

Louisville had to hang on for dear life, but through some blocks and grit, Racing has a shot at a first-ever trophy on Saturday.

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