North Carolina Courage Vs Portland Thorns: 3 things we learned

1. Rookies shine

The North Carolina Courage sent in its usual lineup of stars that won the league last season. The only question was who would fill the right-back position left vacant by Merritt Mathias who is on the 45-Day DL after tearing her ACL last year. In the end, it was rookie Addisyn Merrick, and she filled in admirably.

In the first half, Lindsey Horan nutmegged Merrick and seemingly put herself in on goal with a perfect chance. However, Merrick made a perfect slide tackle to recover against one of the best midfielders in the world. A small moment that reflected a solid 57-minute performance on her NWSL debut.

Merrick was not the only rookie to appear for the Courage. Texas A&M graduate Ally Watt replaced Kristen Hamilton midway through the second half before suffering a knee injury and coming out in the 72nd minute. Although her day was short, she showed signs of life by crossing in a dangerous ball to Portland goalkeeper Bella Bixby.

Although the number one overall draft pick Sophia Smith was not available for Portland due to injury, the Rose City got to watch Morgan Weaver, the second overall pick, who was introduced from off the bench.

The compact schedule of this tournament forces teams to get creative with their team selections. That will force managers to use their rookies a little sooner than if this was a regular season. Good news for the Courage and Thorns, then, that their rookies stood their ground in their first-ever NWSL match.