Photo: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
The North Carolina Courage are back in the NWSL Challenge Cup final. Here’s your bitesize recap of Wednesday’s semifinals.
What happened: Brianna Pinto turned on a loose ball and scored it in the 6th minute of stoppage time to send the North Carolina Courage to the Challenge Cup final for the second straight year. The 1-0 win over the Kansas City Current also marks the second straight year the Courage have won a semifinal at Children’s Mercy Park.
One big moment: The Courage were the better side for much of the night but dodged a major bullet less than 10 minutes from the final whistle. Their former midfield heartbeat and Challenge Cup wizard Debina drove an 81st minute corner kick into the box that wasn’t handled by goalkeeper Casey Murphy. With the keeper on the ground, Michelle Cooper sent a shot toward goal. Several Courage players dropped back to defend the goal line and the last of them, Narumi Miura, blocked Cooper’s shot with her midsection. A few touches later and the…
