By Amelia Hirtle
After a disappointing loss to Orlando last week, Chicago traveled to North Carolina in search of a win to get back on track. The game was delayed for weather-related issues but started shortly before 7:00 pm ET.
Emily Boyd got the start in goal for Chicago after an ACL injury in 2020 kept her away from the pitch. Unfortunately for Boyd and Chicago, her return to the field did not end in the outcome either was hoping for.
Ten minutes before the half, North Carolina was awarded a penalty kick off an inadvertent handball in the box from Chicago defender Kayla Sharples. Amy Rodriguez converted the PK to give the Courage a 1-0 lead. It was her first goal of her Courage career.
Chicago had plenty of chances to counter from Mallory Pugh and Kealia Watt, but they couldn’t convert. In the 85th minute, Watt took a strike from just inside the box that was punched away by the Courage goalkeeper. The match ended in a 1-0 win for the Courage
In the post-game press conference, Head coach Rory Dames said he felt bad for the players that the match ended the way it did. Boyd said she was disappointed with the result in her first game back from injury. I asked Dames specifically about the performance of Arin Wright after being questionable to play early this week. He said she “put in a great shift and gave everything she had for the team”. Dames also noted that Wright is not quite 100% yet.
The inaugural Women’s Cup is set to kick off on Wednesday, August 18th. The teams involved include Chicago, Louisville, PSG, and Bayern Munich. PSG will play Bayern at 5:00 PM and Chicago will take on Louisville at 7:30 PM. On Saturday, August 21st the loser of each game on Wednesday will play each other for third place, while the winners of the Wednesday matches will meet in the finals later that day.