The North Carolina Courage struck first but conceded twice in the final quarter hour in a 2-1 defeat to Racing Louisville FC Saturday night at Lynn Family Stadium. North Carolina drops to 10-9-2 on the season to remain on 32 points, good for fifth in the standings with five to play.

The Courage controlled possession over the first few minutes and had several buildups, culminating in a corner that led to a shot from Aline Gomes that whizzed just wide of the left post. Another big build in the 18’ saw Brianna Pinto hold up in the box, pivot, and rifle a shot towards the top shelf, which Katie Lund had to punch over the bar.

The ensuing corner led to a breakout the other way, which Ashley Sanchez seemingly tackled brilliantly, but a foul and yellow were issued. It was the first time this season Sanchez went into a referee’s book.

Both teams had half chances through the next several minutes before a foul just outside the Courage box set up Racing for a dangerous look from straight away in the 42’ but Savannah DeMelo narrowly missed over the bar to allow North Carolina to exhale.

Those breaths turned to cheers as Sanchez stormed past Abby Erceg on the ensuing restart, side stepping the veteran defender then rolling a centering ball for Brianna Pinto to hammer home on a one-time finish to open the scoring in the 44’. It was Sanchez’s 10th assist of her career and fourth this season.

Louisville nearly answered off the restart, with Janine Beckie storming up the left flank and her lofted cross found the head of Bethany Balcer, but the header just missed high. Another great setup for Pinto saw her strike from point-blank range at the start of added time, but Lund was able to react quickly to deny the try.

The second half saw some more partial chances, with Aline Gomes impressing with both pace and deliveries from the right wing. Fellow Brazilian Kerolin Nicoli was subbed on in the 73’ to mark the return of the reigning league MVP.

The spirits were dampened when Emma Sears pounced on a soft back pass and stepped in for an easy finish to level things with about 10 minutes to play. Then a handball at the edge of the box drew a penalty in the opening minutes of added time and Balcer converted to give the home side the win, snapping North Carolina’s 33-match unbeaten streak when leading at halftime.

The Courage fought to the bitter end, getting a slew of chances to close out the match, including a rocket by Malia Berkely that left the crossbar rattling long into the night and a cry for a penalty that fell on deaf ears. But the visitors could not find the equalizer they needed as the final whistle came.

Match Notes:

Dani Weatherholt made her 150th appearance in an NWSL regular season match for her career. She crossed the 10,000 minute mark two weeks ago in San Diego.

Courage captain Denise O’Sullivan missed the match due to a suspension from yellow card accumulation.

Aline Gomes made her first NWSL start, playing 84 minutes.

Up Next: The Courage are back on the road for a second weekend in a row, traveling to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday, September 29, at 6 p.m. ET. The match will stream live on NWSL+ and Paramount+.

Source: wralsportsfan.com