The North Carolina Courage defeated Angel City 2-1 on Sunday to secure their third straight win, taking momentum into the league break for the men’s World Cup, while the Los Angeles side fell apart late once again in a contest that displayed signs of the types of teams these sides have been.
The Courage were “forward-leaning”, as coach Mak Lind frequently calls for, sometimes to a fault, while Angel City failed to be clinical in the most important moments.
Ashley Sanchez was the catalyst for the Courage’s opening goal in the 48th minute, making a run before playing a centering ball to Manaka Matsukubo, who played it in to Evelyn Ijeh for the tap-in.
Angel City responded in the 51st minute when Jun Endo drew in a crowd of defenders towards the flank and laid the ball back to Evelyn Shores, who whipped a ball into Maiara Niehues for a headed finish into the goal.
But the Courage won the game after scoring in the 79th minute, when Matsukubo slotted home a low finish past Angelina Anderson.
