SNST Newsletter Week 35: The end of the road
The games are over, and the Courage still reign. End-of-year SNST Awards still to come, but here’s to the last proper newsletter of 2019.
Happy Friday! Although it’s November and we’ve come to the end of the road, still I can’t let go of all of these great memories we’ve shared together. We experienced some soaring heights (the North Carolina Courage, again) and some depressing lows (the McGuinness-era Independence) this season. And now, as hard as it is to believe, it’s all over.
Our 2019 Carolina soccer season officially ended with a North Carolina Courage win and a Charleston Battery loss over the weekend. This week, we’re reveling in that Courage title and looking at what’s next for the Battery.
Let’s dive in one last time before our annual offseason break, which we’ll usher in with our 2019 Year-in-Review/SNST Awards newsletter later this month.
Utter domination
By Mary Pruter
It is ALWAYS a pleasure to see the North Carolina Courage slay another team. And that’s exactly what happened last Sunday against the Chicago Red Stars during the 2019 NWSL Championship at home here in Cary.
A little bit of background: My soccer experience dates back to about halfway through the inaugural Courage season, and I’m still very much learning the game. I have never cared for any sort of sports ball or team in my entire life. (Sure, I had a Charlotte Hornets Starter jacket back in the 90’s, but that was more of a fashion statement mixed with my love of the color of teal).
But holy hell, I love this f*cking team.
The atmosphere at the Championship match was electric. The crowd was a sellout, the largest in our history with 10,227 tickets sold. The Uproar sounded amazing, sustaining their chanting and instrumentating (yep, that’s the technical term) the entire match. Even Chicago’s Local 134 brought it. Despite the obvious disappointment for them, their support never waned.
And if I’m being honest, there is never a game I walk in to thinking the Courage are going to lose. That’s for good reason — their record in the three years they’ve been here is 48–11–17.
The slaughter started early when Debinha scored the game’s first goal in the fourth minute. I felt it in my bones: The game was already over. The woman in the seat next to me showed up four minutes later, settled into her seat and asked in disbelief, “They already scored?” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Jess McDonald found the back of the net again in the 27th minute off an assist from Lynn Williams. Crystal Dunn closed out the first half with another in stoppage time. In the waning seconds of first half stoppage time, when Jess McDonald almost kinda sorta was trying to break away, I prayed to the soccer gods for yet another goal. That didn’t happen — it was nowhere near happening, but I was so high off the game that I wanted it all.
If I hadn’t been certain before the game, I knew at halftime that we were getting that second star. I tried to remember, “They have Sam Kerr and she has come back from this kind of deficit before.” But realistically, everyone knew it was over.
The second half, especially the first part, saw a slightly more dangerous Red Stars team. Savannah McCaskill was subbed off at half in favor of Katie Johnson (I’m sure in part due to the frustration between her and Sam Kerr). But I never really felt like there was anything to worry about.
The Red Stars did actually find the back of the net only to have it called back because of an earlier foul by Vanessa Di Bernardo, who took down McCall Zerboni. Even from a distance, I could see the look of relief from our keeper, Steph Labbé.
We finished up the second half with a fourth goal, this one a header by Sam Mewis in the 61st off a beautiful ball from Abby Dahlkemper. The team played like they were of one mind all afternoon, and I nearly found myself crying about that several times throughout the match.
The tears did finally come in the 89th minute when Heather O’Reilly walked off the pitch for the last time as a professional player to a standing ovation. Here in 2002 at WakeMed Soccer Park, she scored her first national team goal against Italy, and it felt appropriate for her to end her career here.
Y’all, it has truly been an honor to watch her play these past couple years, even with her limited minutes. And it’s been amazing to see her close out her professional career starting for the best team in the league. Excuse me while I go cry some more.
The game ended a few short minutes later, and that second star was officially ours.
I am not sure what happened to the Red Stars in the Championship match. I’ve read a mixture of potential things that may have contributed to their breakdown: Tierna Davidson’s last minute injury, the stress of having to do all the different media things for the championship, Casey Short’s asthma issues (I’m sure due to both the unfortunate smoke at the beginning of the match and the heat/humidity) and the obvious frustration between Sam Kerr and Savannah McCaskill in that first half.
But none of this can take away from how well the Courage played. They were the better team all game, and clearly the best team in the league this season. Debinha was deservedly named MVP of the match and Denise O’Sullivan (Savage Sully!) showcased why she has been voted team MVP two years in a row.
The North Carolina Courage hoisted their second NWSL trophy in as many years to end the 2019 NWSL season; they’ll put it right alongside their three straight NWSL Shields. And y’all, I don’t know what to do with myself until next season.
What’s next for the Battery?
By Corey Inscoe
Charleston Battery, the last Carolina USL Championship team standing again this season, lost to Nashville SC 3–1 in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals Oct. 26.
All season, questions have hung over the team, chiefly among them: Where would the Battery play next season? The oldest continually run professional soccer club in the U.S. would no longer be able to play in MUSC Health Stadium, one of the oldest soccer specific stadiums in the country, because it was sold during the season.
We got some answers as Charleston moved into its offseason this week.
First, we learned that the Battery will have new owners. Eric Bowman and B Sports Entertainment sold the club to “HCFC,” led by Rob Salvatore.
“When it became apparent that the Charleston Battery was going to be available, I got really excited,” Salvatore told the Post and Courier. “Now that this is the next chapter in my life, I’m beyond stoked. I think this an incredible opportunity.”
And the club also announced where it will be playing its games during the 2020 season — College of Charleston’s Ralph Lundy Field at Patriots Point. According to The Post and Courier, the club is hoping extend its contract to play all its home games through 2023 at CofC.
One issue: the seating. The field only seats about 1,000, but Salvatore said they’re working to meet the 5,000-seat USL Championship requirement.
“We going to do everything we can to get there as quickly as possible,” Salvatore told the newspaper. “We want big, loud crowds at the matches. Now, how quickly that can happen? I’m not sure. We’re dealing with so many different entities.”
“The way the College of Charleston has cooperated and partnered with us in these first few days is really exciting,” Salvatore added. “I think it’s safe to say they saved professional soccer in Charleston.”
Thank goodness for that.
With a new stadium for the first time in 20 years and just the third owner in club history, the Charleston Battery are entering into a new era next year. Let’s hope it’s a successful one.
This weekend’s schedule
Nothing. It’s over.
Enjoy your first weekend off in months, Carolina soccer friends.
Happy birthday to Brandon Hill! Did we miss yours? Update your info here.
- Team SNST
P.S. Do you have a nominee for a 2019 SNST Award? Your recipient can be a fan, coach, player, organization, or supporters group; just tell us who you think deserves one and why, and we might include it in the 2019 Year-in-Review newsletter coming soon. (Twitter, email replies, and the SNST Slack are the best ways to submit your nominations.)
P.P.S. I know Halloween is over, but this is legitimately one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever read. Seriously. It will haunt your dreams. You’ve been warned.
