Match Preview: North Carolina Courage vs. Angel City FC
WakeMed Soccer Park | Cary, North Carolina – Wednesday, September 14 at 7:00 PM ET
Players to watch:
North Carolina’s Brazilian duo of midfielder Debinha and forward Kerolin each notched a brace in Saturday’s win, marking the eighth time two players on the same team have scored multiple goals in the same game. It was the first time of those eight that both players were born outside the United States. Up front alongside Kerolin is forward Diana Ordoñez, who has helped herself to an impressive 11 goals on the year so far, though she has failed to find the back of the net in the club’s last three games.
On the other side, Angel City forward Simone Charley scored her first goal of the season and the first goal since scoring in two consecutive games in August last year. The 21 regular season games since her last goal is the most between goals in her career. The one goal scored in the club’s last time out has marked the third time in the last four games that the side has produced just a lone goal.
Match facts: The North Carolina Courage host Angel City FC on Wednesday night at WakeMed Soccer Park in a rematch of each side’s regular season opener at the end of April. The match is the first of two games across the league on Wednesday night, with Chicago hosting Kansas City in Bridgeview.
After their 5-1 win over Louisville, the Courage have now scored three or more goals in six straight home games, which is two games longer than any other such streak in NWSL history. The team’s 21 goals in a span of six home games are also the most in a single season in league history. In addition, the Courage are far from out of the playoff race with a five-point gap between them and sixth place Chicago, and North Carolina holds a game in hand.
Just above the Courage in seventh place, though, sits Angel City FC, who are also far from contention as the club sits just a single point of Chicago also with a game in hand. After a 1-1 draw with the Dash in Houston on Sunday, Angel City is unbeaten in four straight away matches and has scored in each game (W1 D3). In the club’s first four away matches, it lost twice and was held scoreless in both defeats.
Angel City beat North Carolina in the only ever meeting between the sides with a 2-1 win in the first league game in ACFC history.
