The North Carolina Courage left it all out on the field, falling to the Washington Spirit 1-0 in a hard-fought NWSL quarterfinal on Sunday night. Ashley Hatch’s goal in extra time swung the final result in Washington’s favor, bouncing the two-time reigning NWSL champions from the postseason.
Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy had arguably her best game of the season, notching 13 saves to deny a lively Spirit offense and keep the Courage in the match through regulation.
My goodness @CaseyMurph đź‘€#WASvNC | https://t.co/0LtSAUK1Jw | #NWSL21 pic.twitter.com/6lxGcz7ZIp— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 7, 2021
My goodness @CaseyMurph đź‘€#WASvNC | https://t.co/0LtSAUK1Jw | #NWSL21 pic.twitter.com/6lxGcz7ZIp
Courage interim coach Sean Nahas commended the keeper’s remarkable performance before praising both teams for their efforts.
“I’ll just make a trophy for her myself,” he said.
“Overall, I thought this was an unbelievable football match. I just thought, if you’re a fan of the game and you didn’t enjoy that, then you shouldn’t be a fan of the game.”
Nahas has been vocal about the resilience his players have showed on and off the pitch since the accusations against former Courage coach Paul Riley came to light.
“They’ll be back,” Nahas said to end the press conference Sunday. “The Courage will be back.”
Nahas postgame on NC/Spirit: "Overall, I thought this was an unbelievable football match. I just thought, if you're a fan of the game, and you didn't enjoy that, then you shouldn't be a fan of the game." #NWSL— Steph Yang | Horrible Soccer Goose (@thrace) November 8, 2021
Nahas postgame on NC/Spirit: "Overall, I thought this was an unbelievable football match. I just thought, if you're a fan of the game, and you didn't enjoy that, then you shouldn't be a fan of the game." #NWSL