March 21, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – North Carolina Courage News Release
SANDY, Utah – The North Carolina Courage hit the road for the first time in 2024 as they ascent to Sandy, Utah for their first matchup with the new iteration of the Utah Royals on Friday, March 22, with a 9:30 p.m. ET (7:30 local) kickoff at America First Field. The NWSL regular season match will stream live and on-demand on NWSL+.
The Courage opened 2024 with a bang, putting up a five-spot in their season-opening 5-1 thrashing of the Houston Dash last Saturday night. Bianca St-Georges led the attack with a brace, becoming just the third-ever player to score twice in their debut with an NWSL club and first to do so since 2014.
Playing as a forward, Brianna Pinto drew a penalty in the 17′ and Malia Berkely finished the job a few minutes later for her first career NWSL regular season goal. Haley Hopkins and Dani Weatherholt also scored in the win. Casey Murphy made three big stops and her only goal allowed came off an unfortunately deflected own goal off a set piece.
The Courage were tenacious on the press and forced Houston into contentious builds as North Carolina won a league-high 50 duels and 16 interceptions. Captain Denise O’Sullivan was a true field general, winning four tackles, wrangling four interceptions, and winning 12 duels, all of which ranked either first or second among individuals on opening weekend. Kaleigh Kurtz made a league-high 10 clearances to help the defensive cause.
After a moderate first half, the Courage dominated possession and were dynamic after the break, scoring four of their five goals after half time. They’ll look to continue to build off that Friday night in a tough road environment where the altitude and another possession-based side will test them.
Utah held over 67% of possession and out-shot Chicago 19-11 despite an 0-2 loss in their return to the NWSL for the first time since 2020. Utah’s possession and 82.2% passing accuracy each ranked first among NWSL teams on opening weekend, while the Courage ranked second in both with 58.7% possession and 80.8% accuracy with their passes.
Hannah Betfort rattled off six shots for the Royals with the Wake Forest alum putting a pair on frame. 2024 first overall draft pick Ally Sentnor created four chances in her professional debut. After being held scoreless in front of a sellout crowd north of 20,000, Utah will be even hungrier for goals in their second straight home bout.
With the altitude…
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