Courage v Louisville quick dive - corner defense

For the 2026 Courage season, I’m not sure I’ll write about every game, but from time to time there will be interesting notes on stats, strategy, or something else worth mentioning.

Big shout out to The Lion’s Pitch who were kind enough to have me on their podcast recapping the Courage’s first game.

In that game, the North Carolina Courage beat Racing Louisville 2-1. They were actually out-chanced by the stats, giving up 2.53 expected goals to Louisville.

What’s notable is the one area where they didn’t give up much: corner kicks. We talked about it a little bit on the podcast, and I wanted to review the tape to see how exactly they defended (and not just rely on my memory from the stands).

Quick 2025 review #

North Carolina was bad at defending set pieces in 2025, especially corner kicks.

Compared to the rest of the league, the Courage were significantly worse at allowing shots, chances, and goals from set pieces.

	Courage	Rest of league
% of shots allowed	30.6%	27.5%
% of xGA	30.2%	23.1%
% of goals allowed	31.6%	21.5%

In different terms: the Courage ranked 11th in set pieces faced (6th in corners, 12th in free kicks). Yet on the average set piece, the Courage gave up 20% more shots and 14% better shots than the rest of the league. And teams converted - the Courage gave up ten goals off of corners.

Now, in 2026, this had the potential to be an be even bigger problem given the opponent.

A brief detour to England #

We take a break from discussing the Courage to mention the Arsenal, your men’s Premier League leaders.

Over the past few seasons, Arsenal has been able to distance themselves is via set pieces, especially corners. This season they’ve already set a record for goals from corners for the Premier League, with 16 goals through 29 matches.

Their strategy is simple: pack the six-yard box with bodies, and play in-swinging balls into it to take advantage of the chaos. But they don’t just stack everyone there at the kick and lump it in. They start with their runners outside the six-yard area, and rush in right before the kick in ways that confuse both man and zonal marking.

This leads to a crowd around the keeper while also getting free runners, and when you toss in a little extra physicality around blocking both the keeper and the defense, you can cause a lot of chaos and score a lot of goals. You can see other samples here.

This approach of crowding the six-yard box, dubbed “the meatwall” by Michael Caley, has spread beyond Arsenal. Seeing the success, a number of other teams across the Premier League and across Europe have jumped on the bandwagon.

While there are complications with trying this in women’s soccer (notably, smaller players will make a less effective barrier), it was only a matter of time until someone tried bringing meatwall principles to the NWSL.

Looking at her roster and seeing Taylor Flint, Emma Sears, and Kayla Fischer… Bev Yanez decided “why not us?”

How the Courage defended Louisville’s corner routines #

It’s just one game, but the Courage showed notable improvement defending corners against Racing Louisville.

Corner #1: 22nd minute #

Here you see how Louisville attacked on corners; they start with one player at the penalty spot, and everyone else beyond the far post. As their kick taker approaches the ball, the players rush into place.

This was Louisville’s least complex setup: three runners straight across the box to drag the defense while Flint comes in behind as a target. Hannah Betfort stays against Flint’s side and uses a strong base on the ground to dislodge Flint in the air as the cross whizzes harmlessly by. Is this contact that might get called for a foul elsewhere on the field? Sure. But in the box on a corner, more contact is allowed (especially for the defense), and you have to use that to your advantage.

Corner #2: 49th minute #

This time Louisville sends four runners, and sends them directly towards the goal line and in the keeper’s path while they target just beyond the back post for both Flint and another runner.

Here Sheridan immediately breaks for the ball at the back post, while the Courage defenders place themselves in front of the onrushing attackers to give her just enough space. While Sheridan doesn’t get the cleanest punch, she deflects the ball out for corner number 3.

Corner #3: 49th minute #

Again, Louisville send four runners. One goes to the top of the 6 to drag a defender, but two head straight to block Sheridan’s path to the back post.

Sheridan and Riley Jackson combine to discard one of the runners as Sheridan shuffles to the back post. After tracking into the box, Dani Weatherholt is able to drift back to flick the ball away. Taylor Flint is able to stab a weak shot off, but it’s blocked by the defense and cleared. This ends up being the only shot the Courage would allow off of a corner.

Corner #4: 77th minute #

Louisville returns to their first variant; three runners straight across the box to try and free up a target.

This time Flint is a decoy as the cross goes to Ellie Jean beyond the far post. The lack of traffic directly targeting her allows Sheridan to aggressively attack the cross and get a good punch out of danger.

Corner #5: 82nd minute #

Two runners directly at Sheridan, and one past her to pull a defender away from the target zone.

Flint loops in behind as the target for the in-swinger right at the six-yard line. While the runners and their defenders block Sheridan from attacking the corner, Dani Weatherholt is able to lean on Flint just enough to keep her momentum going past the slightly overhit ball, leaving it to fall to Lauryn Thompson for an attempted clear that Weatherholt finishes.

Corner #6: 84th minute #

This one’s the least interesting.

The service comes before the Louisville runners can get into position, and is poor enough that the defender at the front post can easily clear.

Overall #

The common threads to the Courage being more effective in this game are simple.

• Aggressiveness

Sheridan was decisive on when to attack the ball versus stay on her line, and when she decided to go, she went without hesitation. (This also applied to her save on the Sears breakaway early in the second half). As good as Casey Murphy was, she was not always the most aggressive keeper. The more the opponent is looking to crowd you off, the more aggressive the keeper has to be.

• Tight defending

For good reason, the Courage didn’t try to challenge Taylor Flint in the air.

Instead, they focused on making sure she could never attack the ball cleanly, by staying tight and applying sufficient physicality at the launch point. Given the contact that NWSL referees tend to allow, this can be a successful combo.

• A bit of luck

Louisville’s timing wasn’t perfect - a couple of times Sheridan was able to attack because the blockers didn’t quite arrive in time. The Courage also benefited from being able to focus on Flint, as well a couple of poor deliveries. Every bit helps.

Still, it’s just one game. We’ll see as the season goes on if the Courage are able to continue improving their set defense.

If you want to see a more offensive clip from the game, andré carlisle has you covered.