Ashley Sanchez's First Career Brace Lifts North Carolina Courage Past Racing Louisville 2-1

The North Carolina Courage packed First Horizon Stadium with a club-record opening night crowd, and Ashley Sanchez gave them the full double feature.

Sanchez scored in the 29th minute and again in the 86th, the first brace of her career according to the Courage, as North Carolina beat Racing Louisville FC 2-1 on Saturday night in Cary. Sarah Weber had equalized for Louisville in first-half stoppage time, and the visitors outshot the hosts, but a deflected Sanchez strike in the closing minutes settled it. The Courage start 1-0-0 with 3 points. Racing starts 0-0-1.

Sanchez Strikes First

The 8,157 fans, a season-opener record for the Courage and the second straight year the club set one, according to North Carolina, saw a lively start. Weber had an early shot blocked for Louisville, and Riley Jackson fired twice for the Courage in the sixth minute, once into a defender and once just wide.

North Carolina had more of the ball, but the chances were even. Shinomi Koyama sent one over in the 23rd minute. Six minutes later, Payton Linnehan whipped in a cross, and Sanchez arrived at the far post to finish low with her right foot into the bottom left corner. 1-0.

Louisville did not flinch. Emma Sears and Ella Hase both had efforts blocked in the 31st minute, Weber pulled a shot wide from the middle of the box in the 36th, and Kailen Sheridan, making her Courage debut, had to get down to keep out a Taylor Flint header in the 40th. Then, in the first minute of stoppage time, Sears found Weber in the middle of the box and the forward drove a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner. 1-1 at the break, and per Racing, Weber had buried her second big look after missing the first.

A Second Half of Near Misses

Racing came out of the locker room on the front foot. In the 48th minute, Katie O'Kane slid a through ball to Sears, and Sheridan stood up to her at the other end of the breakaway. Hase had a header blocked and O'Kane dragged a shot wide in the 52nd, and Hase sent another effort high and wide in the 61st.

North Carolina answered with its best spell of the night. In the 64th minute, Jordyn Bloomer stopped Hannah Betfort from very close range and then Koyama in quick succession, and Maycee Bell had a header blocked moments later. Sanchez slid one wide a minute later.

The final 20 minutes turned into a goalkeeper showcase. Sheridan saved Hase from a tight angle in the 72nd minute and then, in the 84th, got a hand to a Taylor White shot through traffic, tipping it over the bar according to the Courage. White had come on for Hase just nine minutes earlier.

The Turning Point

Two minutes after that Sheridan save, the game flipped. Lauryn Thompson, who per the Courage was making her professional debut, had a shot blocked, and moments later Koyama laid the ball off for Sanchez on the left side of the box. Her right-footed shot took a deflection, climbed over a stretching Bloomer and dropped into the top right corner. 2-1.

Bloomer did not hide from it. "At the end of the day, I think at least on that second (goal), that needs to be kept out of the back of the net by myself," she said. Sears headed wide in the 88th minute, Bloomer saved from Feli Rauch in stoppage time, and North Carolina held on through four added minutes.

Sanchez and Sheridan Deliver

Sanchez was the difference: two goals on five shots, with both of her shots on target finding the net. She was also a persistent presence on the left, with efforts blocked in each half before her winner.

Sheridan's debut deserves equal billing. Her four saves included the breakaway stop on Sears and the late White save that kept the game level. Koyama, who assisted the winner, had two shots, one on target.

For Louisville, Weber was sharp, with three shots and the goal, and Sears picked up an assist while putting up three shots of her own. Racing head coach Bev Yanez, managing a roster the club says features 10 newcomers including six rookies, saw plenty to build on. "I think hitting adversity early is a good thing," she said. "Would we prefer to be in a position with three points? Yeah. But it's football."

Per Racing, Quincy McMahon made her first career start, and Taylor White, Audrey McKeen and Macy Blackburn made their professional debuts. North Carolina's Carly Wickenheiser made her NWSL debut, per the Courage.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: North Carolina 63 percent, Louisville 37.
• Shots: Louisville 17, North Carolina 14. Both teams put 5 on goal.
• Saves: Sheridan 4, Bloomer 3.
• Crosses: Louisville attempted 22, North Carolina 15.
• Clearances: North Carolina 34, Louisville 22.

What It Means

North Carolina, under head coach Mak Lind, starts the season with three points and a statement debut from Sheridan. The schedule gets tougher fast: the Courage visit Gotham FC next on Saturday, March 21.

Louisville leaves Cary with nothing but a decent performance to show for it. Weber knew why. "Yeah, I mean, we really just need to capitalize," she said, calling an early goal "a huge momentum shifter." Yanez was on the same page: "We had opportunities to go up." Racing gets a quick shot at redemption, opening Lynn Family Stadium against the Washington Spirit on Friday night in a playoff rematch.

Closing Take

Season openers are supposed to be tune-ups, but this one had a plot. Racing landed the equalizer right before halftime, carried the momentum out of the tunnel and outshot the hosts. Then Sanchez reminded everybody that the best teams do not need the better night, just the better moment. It was the soccer equivalent of a Taylor Swift bridge: everything builds, and then one line changes the whole song. North Carolina gets the points. Louisville gets the film session.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by RacingLouFC.com. Match notes from NCCourage.com.