Lauren Milliet wasn’t sure what to expect when she arrived in Utah. The second-year professional soccer player from Durango and the rest of the players in the National Women’s Soccer League stepped into an unknown as the first team sports organization to resume play during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Twenty days after her first match of the tournament, Milliet’s North Carolina Courage team was eliminated in Friday’s quarterfinals of the NWSL Challenge Cup tournament. The 2015 Durango High School graduate saw action in four games, including one start. Though it was a fast and furious experience filled with health safety protocols and lots of coronavirus testing, Milliet used the opportunity to prove she was ready to play with the best women in the world.
“The overall experience was really incredible,” Milliet said. “I think it was obviously really physically and mentally demanding, but I would do a million nasal swabs if it meant I got to step on the field.”
In the closely monitored bubble setting, Milliet and the North Carolina Courage stormed through the first three weeks of qualification round play of the Challenge Cup in Herrimand, Utah, with a perfect 4-0-0 record and entered Friday’s quarterfinals as the top seed in the tournament.
The two-time defending NWSL champion Courage faced eighth-seeded Portland Thorns FC (0-1-3) in a rematch of the opening game of the tournament in which Milliet’s skills first got the chance to be showcased to a national audience of nearly 527,000 viewers on CBS. After Milliet subbed into the game in the 65th minute of that match June 27, the Courage would score twice to secure a 2-1 win.
The Courage would go on to score five more goals in the next three matches without surrendering a goal against. But it would be one more goal from Portland on Friday that would end the Courage’s run in the tournament.
Portland rookie Morgan Weaver got her foot on a pass across the face of the goal from Rocky Rodriguez in the 68th minute and beat Courage goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland to send the Thorns to a stunning 1-0 upset win.
North Carolina lost the match despite a 21-10 advantage in shots taken, including 8-3 in shots on goal. Thorns goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom was brilliant with eight saves, several times denying Courage stars Lynn Williams and Debinha.
Milliet did not play in the match after she saw at least 20 minutes in all four qualification round games. A midfielder, Milliet was on the field for five of the seven Courage goals in the tournament.
Though she did not record a point or fire a shot toward goal, Milliet turned plenty of heads from the opening match, drawing praise from the broadcast crew and head coach Paul Riley, who gave the 2019 14th overall draft pick out of Colorado College her first career professional start in the second match of qualifying. The Courage would get a big 2-0 win against the Washington Spirit in that match.
In all, Milliet played 139 minutes, 93 minutes more than her entire rookie season. She completed 82% of her passes and, despite her 5-foot-1 frame, showed she was a tough player by winning 63.6% of her duels and drawing two fouls.
Though the team was limited largely to card games in the hotel for entertainment and all activity and meals were closely monitored by the NWSL, Milliet said she adjusted well and thought highly of the entire experience.
Now, she’s ready to relax for a few days and watch the rest of the tournament play out while she awaits word on what comes next.
“I think most people in the league were just thankful to be training and playing soccer this year,” she said. “I felt so safe, and the NWSL did an extremely impressive job of ensuring our safety and following extensive protocols.
“I am very happy and feel extremely blessed to have had this chance and experience in a very trying time for the whole world.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
