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North Carolina Courage Wins Women’s International Champions Cup

Miami, Florida (July 29, 2018) — It’s as if the North Carolina Courage haven’t already made history.

The first-ever National Women’s Soccer League team to compete in the Women’s International Champion’s Cup, the Courage defeated Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, 1-0, Sunday night.

North Carolina Courage Wins Women’s International Champions Cup

Heather O’Reilly, who was acquired by the team in July, scored her first goal for the Courage in the victory. O’Reilly started in the right midfield. She has recently featured in regular-season action at left back.

Lynn Williams recorded the assist on the 10th-minute goal.

After the match, Courage Head Coach Paul Riley said that the game settled after O’Reilly’s goal went past Lyon goalkeeper Lisa Weiß.

“We turned the ball over a little bit more than we normally do under pressure, and I think just under the whole thing of playing in a final,” Riley said. “It felt like an FA Cup Final even before the game. But yeah, hats off to – we had a young team out there, and they did really well.”

Riley called it a “good, gutsy American performance” from his team.

That winning moment! @TheNCCourage are the first #ICCWomen's champions! #ChampionsMeetHere pic.twitter.com/CLBZD6LbYh

— Women's International Champions Cup (@iccwomen) July 30, 2018

Riley Switches Things Around

He made some starting lineup changes from the Courage’s ICC victory over Paris Saint-Germain. Instead of Katelyn Rowland featuring in goal, Sabrina D’Angelo got the nod. Ryan Williams earned her first-ever start for the Courage at right back.

Jessica McDonald, who scored against Paris Saint-Germain, began the match on the bench. However, she entered in the 61st minute, relieving Kristen Hamilton from her duties.

However, an early substitution had to be made for midfielder Yuri Kawamura. Riley proclaimed after the match that Kawamura suffered a knee injury. Cari Roccaro replaced her in the 31st minute.

Riley also said that Lyon is “world-class.”

The French team won the UEFA Women’s Champions League final against VFL Wolfsburg back in May. It was the fifth title for the team.

While Riley wasn’t too keen on a sloppy victory, he did take solace in the history that was made.

“We’ll go down in the history books as winning the first ever,” Riley said. “So there’s something to be proud of for that.”