Cary, North Carolina

– The North Carolina Courage battled back three times against the Washington Spirit to earn a point at home, leaving the Spirit still winless since May 1 as the hosts canceled each lead in the end.

Cary, North Carolina

– The North Carolina Courage battled back three times against the Washington Spirit to earn a point at home, leaving the Spirit still winless since May 1 as the hosts canceled each lead in the end. Two teams that normally embrace the chaos against each other were relatively tempered in the opening 20 odd minutes as they settled into the match. A lightning delay in the 24 ^th minute meant a break that would stretch the first half with play resuming around 9:10 P.M. ET. Suddenly, a flurry of three goals in four minutes occurred beginning in the 42 ^nd minute as the floodgates opened in the match. Working their way back into the pace of play after the rain delay, Washington struck first as they were able to fire in front via forward Trinity Rodman. A tough turnover in the defensive third by North Carolina eventually allowed Washington’s Ashley Sanchez to slip in her pass for Rodman inside the penalty area, and Rodman pushed her effort around North Carolina goalkeeper Casey Murphy for the goal. A short-lived lead, though, North Carolina needed just two minutes to pull themselves level as Brittany Radcliffe equalized in the 44 ^th minute for her second goal in as many games. Seemingly creating something out of nothing, a simple through pass from midfielder Denise O’Sullivan saw Radcliffe chase the ball down and shrug off a defender, ultimately also burying the opportunity around Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury for the leveller. Astonishingly, Radcliffe’s goal would not be the last of the first half though as Kelley O’Hara picked out the head of teammate Tara McKeown, who scored her first goal of the season as Washington jumped in front once again. O’Hara had spotted the space McKeown worked herself into, and as the defender floated in her cross Casey Murphy came out to collect. However, finding herself in a bit of empty space, Murphy got caught as McKeown was able to get her head to the ball and put the chance home. At the break, Washington found themselves in front still after taking the lead, giving that lead up, and regaining it again all within the space of a few short breaths. Into the second half, Washington nearly added a third goal just two minutes in as the forward Rodman chased a through ball on the ground toward the goalmouth only to see Murphy off her line again to safely keep the ball. Turning the tide again, North Carolina would respond again with a goal in the 53 ^rd minute though to come back from a goal deficit for the second time. An errant pass from the goalkeeper Kingsbury allowed North Carolina to regain position in the Spirit penalty area, and that left Meredith Speck to pick out forward Diana Ordóñez who managed to bundle her close ranged shot over the line for her team’s second. Just as shortly as Washington’s original lead held, though, so too was North Carolina’s ability to remain level. In the 56 ^th minute, Sanchez lifted a ball over the back of the Courage defense into the path of the forward run of Rodman. Taking the ball down, Rodman then prevented a defensive clearance that allowed her to bring the ball into the six-yard box on the left side. Rodman then produced an impressive precise yet powerful effort off balance to beat Murphy and restore the visitor’s lead approaching the hour mark. Still yet, North Carolina would not give up and came back to go level for the third time on the night via an equalizer in the 62 ^nd minute on an Ordoñez penalty. Right on the hour mark, Washington defender Sam Staab was judged to have fouled Radcliffe in the box following a cross from out wide. The center official then awarded the penalty to North Carolina and Ordóñez stepped up to the spot, beating the ball past Kingsbury for the Courage’s third goal of the night. Into six minutes of stoppage time, the Courage nearly found a late winner through Jorian Baucom after Carson Pickett’s cross. However, as Baucom rose to meet the ball, her header bounced off the challenging defender’s head and then off the crossbar before it was eventually seen away from danger. In the end, a six-goal thriller saw the North Carolina Courage come down from a goal deficit three times against the Washington Spirit to earn a thrilling draw and extend their unbeaten run against the Spirit this season to five games.