For reasons we can (and cannot) explain, every Courage game is bonkers
Whatever your plans are for a given weekend of soccer viewing, you have to make sure the North Carolina Courage are on your schedule.
“Now wait a minute,” you might be thinking. “Pro Soccer Wire, are you telling me to watch a team currently sitting in last place? With so many things going on in soccer right now?”
Yes, we are! And here’s why: the Courage are guaranteed entertainment right now. This is a team that has, over its last eight games, scored and conceded 20 times. An average soccer match has somewhere between two or three goals. NWSL, as a league, has produced 242 goals in 89 matches this season, or an average of 2.72.
The average Courage match over these eight games? Five goals. They’re not just a team that scores and concedes more than most; they’re out on the fringes of what we even thought was possible.
Just look at their recent games all at once. It’s overwhelming.
Let’s talk about their latest game, Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Current that started out at 100 miles an hour, and then just never even remotely slowed down. North Carolina took the lead twice in a breathless first half, only for the Current to get level both times before the break. The Courage went in front again, only to watch Kansas City equalize for a third time. North Carolina never took a lead that lasted more than nine minutes before we’d be back in a tie game.
And then, to cap it off, a fully end-to-end second half was capped off with an absolute wondergoal from Kansas City’s Claire Lavogez, who surged up the middle and unleashed a nearly 30-yard rocket to take the three points:
This madcap, non-stop action is just what the Courage provide. Their last two games before this were 3-3 draws. One saw them come from 2-0 and 3-2 down against league-leading Portland while on the road, and the other saw them nearly replicate what Kansas City just did to them, pulling themselves level against the Washington Spirit three times.
This loss to Kansas City isn’t even their first 4-3 loss of the summer, as they did the same at home against the Houston Dash back in June. A 2-2 draw with the Chicago Red Stars about a month ago saw them lead 2-0 going into stoppage time, only to concede twice.
No lead, whether it’s North Carolina or their opponent, is safe when the Courage are playing.
How on earth is this happening?
Going forward, there are two main factors about why the Courage are scoring so freely. First and foremost, they’re just stocked with talented players. Debinha and Kerolin are, save for maybe Trinity Rodman and Ashley Sanchez, the most entertaining one-two punch in NWSL. They’re electric, and really this article could have the same headline if it were simply about watching those two combine on the break. You should have already been trying to watch them whenever possible.
Those two are playing off of Diana Ordoñez, who has emerged as a major Rookie of the Year contender. With a goal against Kansas City, the Mexican international took her goal total up to eight on the season, a new record for an NWSL rookie, and the Courage still have 10 games to play.
Secondly, North Carolina’s approach under Sean Nahas is generally built around high-pressing, transitional soccer. They sprint forward after turnovers, they stretch teams from touchline to touchline, and they overwhelm defenses with sheer numbers. That means a wide-open game, and the Courage seem to be able to force these terms onto just about anyone they play against.
All of that is very good, but their inability to slow opposing teams down is just as much of a factor in these bonkers results. The Courage are so committed to going forward at full speed that when things go the other way, there’s always space to attack.
Dovetailing with that in a way that benefits neutrals and absolutely shreds the nerves of North Carolina fans, the Courage haven’t been able to defend well. Numerous players are having down years on this side of the ball, with American Soccer Analysis’ Goals Added metric not reflecting well on U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper Casey Murphy (13th out of 14 goalkeepers with 300+ minutes played in the regular season) or normally dependable defensive midfielder Denise O’Sullivan (34th out of 40 central or defensive midfielders with the same minutes requirement).
Finally, there’s just a dash of the bizarre thrown in the mix here. North Carolina may have their strengths and flaws, but they’re also seeing some inexplicable wildness in their games. Expected goals totals should reflect their tactical tendencies towards opting for high-scoring track meets, right?
Nope. North Carolina has, on a per-game basis, NWSL’s fifth-best expected goals rate (1.42), and while their 1.50 expected goals against is 10th out of 12 teams, they’re closer to being a top four team in the category than they are to Gotham FC’s woeful 1.79 xGA.
And yet, there’s Lavogez going unchallenged to hit a banger. There’s a simple throw-in becoming a four-on-four that ends in Cece Kizer being wide open in the box to score. They keep generating point-blank chances for Ordoñez, even when Debinha and Kerolin were away with Brazil.
In other words, the fates have decided that we’re all getting a goal feast that defies explanation whenever the Courage play. The only rational choice is to fire up a stream and have a blast.
[lawrence-related id=5493,5579]
