THE NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE CLINCHED THE 2017 NWSL SHIELD WITH A MONSTER 4–0 WIN OVER THE HOUSTON DASH!

Whew, got that out of the way. We’re just excited over here.

On Wednesday night at HEB Park, the Courage played like straight fire and dismissed the Dash to secure the best record in the league in their first season in North Carolina.

Let’s dive into the game recap.

The Courage went down to Texas and left with a statement win that should put all the playoff teams on notice. The ladies got their record-tying 16th win of the season and their 12th shutout of the year, breaking the record for most shutouts in a season. Sabrina D’Angelo was in net for this one, her fourth in 2017.

If there was only one thing that this team did correctly on Wednesday night (there were many), it was not letting up. After going up 4–0 in the 56th minute on yet another Ashley Hatch goal, the Courage were still attacking.

The first goal, in the 13th minute, could've come even earlier than it did. Sam Mewis actually shot a few times before this one found the back of the net, and Williams and Hatch were getting dicey down low already.

That goal from Mewis was of pure skill. It looked as if at first it was going to be a pass inside the box, but instead it was the USWNT member showing off her skill, sending in a low fireball to the corner of the box off a short pass from Abby Dahlkemper.

The next goal could be a contender for goal of the week, month, and the season. Hatch and Williams teamed up for a short pass that sent the speedy Williams down to the goal line with two Dash defenders following her. Lynn put on the brakes, dodged the two defenders, juked up the goalkeeper sending her the complete wrong direction, and sent the ball into the net.

I could watch that all day.

And how good is Sam Mewis? Really good. Mewis runs the midfield for the NC Courage: She is able to take control, step up, and send picture-perfect passes downfield. That’s what she did for the third goal. Mewis sent a good ball to Williams who sent the ball on to Debinha at the start of the second half.

Only five minutes later, the future ROOKIE OF THE YEAR scored another one. Mewis sent a good pass to Hatch who passed back to Debinha who sent it right over the Dash defender who was caught off guard and Hatch had a wide open field to work with. The rookie scored her seventh goal of the season, the first since 2014’s Jazmine Reeves to have that many in her first year.

For the rest of the match, the Courage continued to play up-tempo attacking soccer. They stopped the offense of the Dash through the very last minute.

The Courage still have one more game left in their regular season, Saturday against Alex Morgan and the Orlando Pride. If the Courage win that game then they will get the all-time record for most wins in an NWSL season. That match will be in Cary so make sure you’re there for this one to celebrate the Shield and finish the season strong. COME PACK SAHLEN’S STADIUM!

Thanks for reading! Hope that everyone can make it out to the last game of the season at home; I will be going to the Semi-Final match October 8th, and you should be too, so let us know if you are going. We’ll have NWSL playoff coverage throughout October here at Soccer ‘n’ Sweet Tea, here’s hoping the Courage can win the double in their first season in Carolina.