Sixth-seeded NY/NJ Gotham FC knocked off the No. 3 seed North Carolina Courage in the NWSL quarterfinals with a 2-0 victory at WakeMed Soccer Park on Sunday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Gotham midfielder Delanie Sheehan netted her first career NWSL goal in the 45th minute and Yazmeen Ryan put the game away in the 91st minute, scoring off a pass from Lynn Williams.
- The Courage were without Brazilian star Kerolin, who suffered a torn ACL in the team’s regular-season finale last week. The 2023 NWSL Golden Boot runner-up led North Carolina with 10 goals this season.
- Gotham FC will take on the No. 2 Portland Thorns in the semifinals on Nov. 5.
Courage started slow without Kerolin
It was a difficult first half for the Courage; though they seemed to be having more of the midfield chess match between themselves and Gotham, Gotham were the ones to actually get on the board first. It took them until the 45′ though and up until that point, the Courage looked more likely to break the deadlock if only they could tidy up their passing and be a little bolder in pressing out of midfield.
Both sides were a touch hesitant in their play, neither one wanting to make the first serious error. In that sense they desperately missed Kerolin, ruled out with a season-ending ACL injury sustained in…
