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Abby Erceg and the Courage defense has Carolina back in the NWSL Final

By Jordan Small

PISCATAWAY, NJ - MAY 19: North Carolina Courage defender Abby Erceg (6) during the first half of the National Womens Soccer League game between the North Carolina Courage and Sky Blue FC on May 19, 2018, at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ - MAY 19: North Carolina Courage defender Abby Erceg (6) during the first half of the National Womens Soccer League game between the North Carolina Courage and Sky Blue FC on May 19, 2018, at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The North Carolina Courage are back in the NWSL Final. Here are three things to know about the Shield winners ahead of the match.

For the second year in a row, the NWSL Championship will feature the Shield-winning Courage and the Portland Thorns. Last year, after shutting out Chicago in the semifinal, the Courage went on to drop the final match to Portland. This year, the Courage are looking to reverse their fate and break the NWSL’s Shield curse.

North Carolina are a good team no matter where they’re playing

Last weekend, the Carolinas were rocked by Hurricane Florence. Prior to the storm making landfall, the NWSL made the decision to move the semifinal match between North Carolina and Chicago out of Cary and into Providence Park in Portland. This upset people across the league because North Carolina finished with the best season on record in the NWSL and had earned the home field advantage for the match. However, it just wasn’t possible to dictate where the storm would end up and the only safe option was to move the match.

This turned out not to be a problem for the Courage. North Carolina went undefeated on the road in 2018, and their good fortune continued on Tuesday night. The Courage took an early lead thanks to a goal from Jess McDonald and were able to shut out Chicago for the victory. Now comes the true test for the road warriors, as they’ll face off against Portland in their own back yard for the league crown.

North Carolina’s defense is suffocating

It’s no secret the Courage are a stout defensive team. In the final voting for defensive player of the year, the Courage are represented well with two out of the five finalists from the Shield winners. The Courage also allowed an NWSL record low for goals in 2018, at just 17 over 24 games.

On Tuesday night, they were able to shut down the NWSL’s Golden Boot winner, Sam Kerr. This was all done without MVP candidate and star midfielder McCall Zerboni. Zerboni broke her elbow at the beginning of the month while playing for the U.S. and it raised questions as to what this would do for the defense of North Carolina. In the end, they were able to keep the Red Stars attack contained and it helped them book a spot in the final for a second straight year.

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You just never know who’s going to score for the Courage

When looking at the Courage, it’s hard to pinpoint who’s going to be the goalscorer on any given day. Four Courage players have scored more than five goals. Five more have scored at least two goals. That distribution of wealth has made the Courage a deadly team on the attack and is why they were able to score a record 53 goals over 24 games.

A goal on Saturday at Providence Park, and especially if it comes early on, will do wonders for the Courage. It’ll change the dynamic of the crowd and will definitely help North Carolina keep that strong road record alive.

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