Dzsenifer Marozsan Curls in Beautiful Goal as Lyon Edge Courage in ICC Final
The 2019 final of the Women's International Champions Cup seemed like it was set to be a goal-filled thriller.
The three other games of the tournament had a combined seven goals scored and this final was between two of the best teams in women's soccer. The North Carolina Courage have been in the past two NWSL championship games and beat the Portland Thorns to earn the title last season while Lyon is one of the most fearsome teams in all of world soccer, employing superstars from all over the world.
What played out Sunday night in North Carolina was a show of both team's strengths, as they showed plenty going forward but Lyon was just a bit more clinical, with Dzsenifer Marozsan's wonderful curler from outside the box being the difference in the French team's 1-0 win.
Lyon no doubt wanted revenge after the Courage took home the ICC title last year in a 1-0 win featuring the same teams, and they got it, though they certainly had to work for it.
North Carolina defenders Abby Dahlkemper and Abby Erceg were fantastic for much of the game, keeping Lyon's unyielding attack at bay, but there wasn't much they could do when Marozsan broke the deadlock in the 56th minute.
The goal came when Lyon broke forward and Lucy Bronze found herself in some space, opting to lay the ball off to Marozsan, who curled the ball just over Stephanie Labbe's outstretched hand and into the back of the net.
The Courage continued to press forward and provide some promising attacks but their late-game luck—they scored in the 84th minute and the third minute of stoppage time against Manchester City in their earlier ICC game—ran out.
There were plenty of standout players from the 2019 Women's World Cup on the field on Sunday, with Dahlkemper, Debinha, Sam Mewis and Crystal Dunn playing for the Courage while Bronze, Amandine Henry, Wendie Renard, Nikita Parris, Alex Greenwood, Eugenie Le Sommer and Shanice van de Sanden all suited up for Lyon.
