After Sunday afternoon’s match between the Chicago Red Stars and NJ/NY Gotham FC, two sides that traveled similar off-field roads in 2021 go head-to-head in the NWSL Playoffs. The Washington Spirit and North Carolina Courage face off for a chance to compete against OL Reign, the hottest team of the second half of the NWSL season.
In 2021, four coaches were fired, or resigned, due to their own actions. The two biggest are represented in Sunday’s second of two playoff matches. On one side, the Spirit fired head coach Richie Burke, which unearthed even more problems within the Washington front office. It morphed into a league-wide campaign by supporters demanding that owner Steve Baldwin sell the team.
The opposing bench features a team whose coach caused the complete shutdown of a match weekend, and the ousting of former league commissioner Lisa Baird. An article by The Athletic shared allegations of abuse by former Courage coach Paul Riley. The public getting wind of the story, and commissioner’s inaction against requests to reopen investigations into his behavior, sent shockwaves of player empowerment through the NWSL. So much so that even the championship game moved from Portland, Oregon to Louisville, Kentucky at the player’s request.
Sunday features two sides that have reacted two ways to their team’s turmoil.
Washington Spirit v. North Carolina Courage
Sunday’s competitors face off for the fifth time in the regular season. After a 2-3 Courage victory on April 10, during the Challenge Cup, the series has gone all Washington’s way. In three regular season matches, the Courage earned just a single point out of nine. Most recently, a 2-1 Spirit victory on October 13.
Handling Adversity
On August 11, Burke resigned from his head coaching position, eventually turning into his firing. In the five matches that followed, Washington had one win, two draws and two losses. Both losses coming from COVID-19-related match forfeitures. Since then, the Spirit dropped only two points in six matches. Their five wins and one draw put Washington in third place to end the regular season.
North Carolina hasn’t fared as well. Since the bombshell September 30 firing of Riley, Carolina beat ninth place Racing Louisville FC. What followed were three straight losses and a draw against Portland in their season finale. For the first time since relocating from Western New York in 2017, Carolina ended the season with single digit wins (9) and their largest loss total (9).
Washington carries momentum and expectations into their Sunday home playoff match. A big reason they’ve gotten there is their potent, award-winning, offensive attack.
The Golden Boot & The Rookie
Leading the NWSL in goal scoring for 2021 was Ashley Hatch. The forward put in 10 goals this season, securing the NWSL Golden Boot. Not only can Hatch score, but she does from different spots in the Washington attack.
Hatch and fellow forward Ashley Sanchez give the Spirit different looks on the offensive half of the field. Both can go in and out of the midfield, each possessing the skills to play the false-nine, giving defenses problems. Then there’s Trinity Rodman.
At only 19-years-old, in her first season as a professional, Rodman had high expectations even without a collegiate resume to hang her hat on. Rodman’s exceeded them all. It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but the shoe-in for NWSL Rookie of the Year is a world beater. Sunday Rodman gets her first chance to perform in the NWSL Playoffs.
Rodman started her career scoring in her first professional match, in that 2-3 Challenge Cup loss. Since then, Rodman’s broken through defenses with her movement on and off the ball; leading to a six-goal rookie season. In addition, Rodman’s five assists lead the Spirit and were just one behind the league leader Sofia Huerta, from OL Reign.
Carolina, who’s without midfielder Sam Mewis or defender Abby Dahlkemper (who was traded to Houston on August 29), need to change something to combat this Washington trio.
Defending Champions
For years, the Courage played under the team-led notion that they were the underdogs. It turned into a joke used against them when they beat the Portland Thorns and Chicago Red Stars in 2018 and 2019 for the NWSL Championship. In 2021, for the first time, they actually fit the underdog definition.
Offense, which has been a strength for Carolina for years, has been anything but this season. In the final 16 matches of the year, the Courage scored multiple goals only twice. Each time it was against either Kansas City NWSL or Louisville, the bottom two teams in the league. In seven of those 14 matches, the Courage were shut out completely.
Sunday won’t get any easier with defenders Kelley O’Hara and Emily Sonnett anchoring the Spirit backline. Washington’s given up only one goal in the past six matches. On a bright note, the goal was scored by the Courage.
While Carolina may not have ended the season on a high note, they’re still the North Carolina Courage. The same team that won two straight league titles. A team led by international stars like USA forward Lynn Williams, New Zealand and Courage captain Abby Erceg and one of the top players in the world in Brazil’s Debinha.
On paper, it’s easy to count the Courage out of this match, but the Courage have history on their sides. In a win or go home environment, the Spirit need to watch out for muscle memory kicking in. Carolina excels in the NWSL Playoffs, and has for years.
How to Watch
Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Location: Audi Field in Washington D.C.
TV: Paramount+
The winner takes on OL Reign Sunday, November 14, in Tacoma, Washington.
Follow Beyond Women’s Sports for more from the 2021 NWSL Playoffs. Thomas Costello is on Twitter too. Follow him @1ThomasCostello.
