North Carolina Courage Vs Washington Spirit: 3 things we learned

2. Substitutions make the difference

Despite being dominated toward the end of the first half, the Spirit held to keep the scores level at half-time. Then North Carolina Courage manager Paul Riley made three substitutions that changed the flow of the game and ultimately gave his side three points.

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Sam Mewis, Denise O’Sullivan and Crystal Dunn were all missing from the starting XI. All three came into the match at half-time and helped their side grasp the three points in a controlled second-half performance.

Mewis and Sullivan make up the defensive portion of Riley’s box midfield while Dunn and Debinha combine on the attacking side. When all three came in, they completed the four-woman midfield and made North Carolina’s attack nearly as potent as it could be. They also added fresh legs to the equation with the Spirit playing their second game in just four days.

The midfield is what makes the Courage click. Give those players 45 minutes rest against a team that has been chasing the majority of the game and it is no surprise that the goals started coming once those players got on the field.