Homegrown Hero Pinto Helps North Carolina Courage to 2-0 Win Over Gotham FC

North Carolina Courage 2 – 0 Gotham FC

CARY, NC— For the North Carolina Courage, it’s hard to call the last four months an “off season.” Since mid-November, the roster has undergone significant changes. Among the departures were Jessica McDonald, Lynn Williams, and Sam Mewis, along with Cari Roccaro, Diane Caldwell, and Angharad James. Amy Rodriguez and Canadian international Lindsay Agnew both retired during the off season.

But through trades, signings, and a bountiful college draft, head coach Sean Nahas had an idea for fielding a fluid and dynamic team that is going to keep opponents guessing.

The opening moments of the game were a little nervy for the Courage when Gotham rookie Cameron Tucker pounced a pass back to North Carolina goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland. Rowland didn’t let Tucker get a clean chance and the ball went wide of the goal.

With a new front line that included Durham native and University of North Carolina alum Brianna Pinto, Taylor Smith, Debinha and returning player Jaelene Daniels, the Courage gave the Gotham back line all it could handle in the first half. Merritt Mathias sent a gorgeous cross into the box in the 8^th minute that Smith got her head on, but the ball bounced just wide of the post.

North Carolina got on the board in the 22^nd minute when Carson Pickett took possession of a pass from Debinha and crossed the ball into the box. Her lob pass found Pinto who nodded it past Gotham goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris to make the score 1-0.

“I think this is a dream come true,” Pinto said after the game. “Having all of my family and friends in the stands and the support of all my teammates. It was a testament to how hard we’ve worked over the last six weeks.”

That her first professional goal not only came at home in front of family and friends, but was also against her former team, made it even more special. “To score a goal against my former team meant a lot to me, because it’s my first professional goal and also my first start, so this is a big night.”

The Courage kept the pressure on throughout the first half. They were fluid and organized in both halves of the field, with Pickett, Daniels, Debinha, Pinto and Smith linking on several scoring opportunities. Despite creating chances in Gotham’s end, they didn’t get anything else past Harris. But for the first 45 minutes of a game for a team with a lot of new faces, the Courage had to be pleased with where they were at.

North Carolina picked up in the second half where they left off, with Debinha, Pinto, and Smith prodding Gotham’s defense in search of another tally.

But it would be defender and team captain Abby Erceg who would double the lead for the Courage. In the 51^st minute, Debinha sent a corner kick into the box. Gotham attempted to clear the ball, but it came right to Erceg who slammed a one-timer past Harris to put the home team up 2-0.

Save for a couple of hairy moments in the game, it was the most complete performance from the Courage since their multiple-championship 2019 season. The Courage outshot Gotham 17-4 with Rowland called on to make just one save on the way to her first clean sheet of the year.

“I haven’t seen us play that well in a long time,” said Erceg in her post-game remarks. “I don’t know where that was hiding but, yeah, obviously really happy with the win…I think the performance itself was really, really good as well. I’m very happy.”

Nahas also liked what he saw from his team in the game. “I felt our build was really good and our positioning when we were in possession, to be able to minimize any type of risk, was really good. We were really just well balanced and organized…as a result, the transition moments were a lot better. I’ll be interested to see how many times we won the ball back immediately once we lost it.”

One of the more notable performances of the night came from midfielder Denise O’Sullivan. The veteran had arrived in Cary less than 48 hours before kickoff, having been waiting in Ireland for her green card to arrive. O’Sullivan stepped off of that international flight and put in a full 90 minutes for the Courage. “Sully hasn’t been here in three weeks,” Nahas noted. “She hasn’t trained; and for her to put that 90-minute performance in, I think that goes to show you where our fitness levels are at right now.”

Last Words from Nahas: “I don’t know what the season is going to lead us to. But I’ll tell you this; that’s a small step in the proper direction. We’ll continue to plug away, but this is a really big foundation that we laid down today.”

Final Notes

• After the game, Pinto talked more about what her expected role is in coach Sean Nahas’ system. “We’re supposed to fill in the half spaces, get the ball, drive at defenses, and wreak havoc.”
• Rowland was tapped to start in goal with Casey Murphy nursing a knee injury.
• In addition to Pinto getting her first professional start, it was an evening of debuts. Malia Berkely also made her NWSL debut starting in midfield. Former Gotham draft pick Tess Boade appeared in the game in the 62^nd minute while 2021 draft pick Diana Ordoñez came on in the 86^th Kiki Pickett also made her debut in a Courage kit, coming on in the 86^th minute for Mathias.
• The Courage U-23 team will play in the USL-W League in 2022, the league’s inaugural season.
• Next up for the North Carolina Courage is the Orlando Pride. The first meeting of the rivals will take place at WakeMed Soccer Park next Saturday, March 26^th at 7 p.m. EDT.

Lineups

North Carolina Courage: K. Rowland; K. Kurtz, C. Pickett, A. Erceg ©, M. Mathias (K. Pickett 86’), J. Daniels (T. Boade 62’); B. Pinto (M. Speck 63’), M. Berkely, D. O’Sullivan, T. Smith (D. Ordoñez 86’), Debinha

NJ/NY Gotham FC: A. Harris; C. Dydasco, A. Krieger, M. Freeman, I. Dorsey; J. Cudjoe (T. Torres 55’), M. Zerboni ©, N. Kawasumi (N. Baxter 59’), C. Tucker (E. Jean 59’), P. Monaghan, M Purce

Score:
North Carolina Courage: 2
NJ/NY Gotham FC: 0

Goals:
North Carolina Courage: B. Pinto 22’ (C. Pickett); A. Erceg 51’ (M. Berkely)

NJ/NY Gotham FC: none

Discipline:

North Carolina Courage: none

NJ/NY Gotham FC: J. Cudjoe (YC 46’)

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