North Carolina Courage Dominates Chicago in NWSL Match

After a busy Friday night, the National Women’s Soccer League spread the weekend’s other four games out across Saturday and Sunday. Saturday featured two one-sided, high-scoring affairs as North Carolina defeated Chicago 4-0, then Denver downed Orlando 3-1. On Sunday, Portland played Angel City to a scoreless draw before Utah earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Racing Louisville.

Ashley Sanchez Continues Standout Season

The North Carolina Courage put on an outstanding second half performance against Chicago on Saturday in front of a sold-out First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, marking the first back-to-back sell-outs in club history. The announced attendance of 10,023 also ranks as the fifth-largest crowd in club history, following closely behind the previous match’s attendance of 10,031 on May 2.

Evelyn Ijeh broke the deadlock in the 47th minute with her first goal in a Courage shirt since joining the team during the offseason via a transfer from Italian club AC Milan. It was Sanchez’s first significant contribution on the night as Ijeh headed home Sanchez’s cross from the left wing.

Sanchez then doubled the Courage’s advantage in the 61st minute, finishing off a chance in the box after Ijeh kept the play alive in a dangerous area. The goal marked Sanchez’s sixth of the season, setting a new career high for the Courage midfielder and securing her position in second place in the Golden Boot race.

Ally Schlegel added a third for the Courage in the 65th minute, connecting on a cross-box pass from Manaka Matsukubo to score her first goal in a Courage jersey. Schlegel joined the Courage in the offseason as a free agent from Chicago. Manaka then capped off the scoring, netting North Carolina’s fourth goal with an assist from Shinomi Koyama, bringing her total to four goals this season.