New Jersey-born Brosnan aiming to buck the trend and keep the USA scoreless

Just one team – Spain last October – has kept the American powerhouse scoreless in their last 22 games.

Fri, 07 Apr, 2023 - 06:24

John Fallon

Parse the form of USA and Ireland ahead of Saturday’s friendly and the green tinted glasses can be gazed through.

The Americans may be world champions but over the last 12 months in which they lost three matches, Vera Pauw’s side have gone unbeaten.

Notably, for historical reasons, their sole reverse in 14 matches came against Russia.

That was February 19, 2022 at the Pinatar Tournament, the last approved fixtures for the Russians.

Eleven days later and FIFA imposed a ban, that remains in place, for their inhumane invasion of Ukraine.

Furthermore, since Kosovare Asllani burgled an equaliser for top seeds Sweden a year ago this week before a crowd of 12,123 in Gothenburg, the Girls in Green haven’t conceded a goal.

That encompasses seven full games, plus injury time, stretching the shutout famine to over 650 minutes.

Standing tall and staying alert throughout has been Courtney Brosnan, a remarkable storyline within this fairytale of World Cup qualification.

She had concluded the last campaign for Euro 2021 as third-choice goalkeeper behind Grace Moloney and Marie Hourihan – and has since staved off competition from another stopper, WSL regular Megan Walsh, to consolidate her status as undisputed No 1.

Saving Caroline Weir’s penalty when last October’s World Cup playoff against Scotland was scoreless proved similarly valuable to Amber Barrett’s subsequent winner.

Back to the stat-attack and there’s a critical one Brosnan holds as an objective in this double-header against the country of her birth.

Just one team – Spain last October – has kept the American powerhouse scoreless in their last 22 games.

For Ireland to stand a chance of causing an upset either on Saturday in Austin or Tuesday in St Louis, the Everton custodian must sustain her thriftiness between the sticks.

“There's no denying that the US are a special team, with world-class attackers and yeah, for me, it would be really brilliant to keep another clean sheet,” said the New Jersey native.

“I've always been upfront about that. I just try to do the best I can for the team and fulfil the role that we need from me.

“I’ve always really believed in myself and had the confidence that I was capable of putting in these performances and playing for this team.”

Were Brosnan’s Irish connection not so strong, with grandparents from Roscommon and Kerry, she might have been in the opposite camp this week.

Her childhood friend and rival, Casey Murphy, holds that residency, battling with Alyssa Naeher for the coveted berth ahead of their bid to win a third World Cup on the spin this summer.

Brosnan and Murphy go back a long way, a bond that will be cherished rather than splintered if they face off at the 20,000-seater Q2 Stadium.

“We grew up together, part of the same team at the Players Development Academy in New Jersey,” she explained.

“It was a very, very good team that went a few years without losing a game. The coach was quite up front that we had two great goalkeepers and it was kind of a pivotal time for us to develop and get off to college and then go professional.

“So, he split the time in goal between us, really shaping me and allowing growth. It's amazing for me to see her do so well in the NWSL with North Carolina Courage and on the US team – and the same for her with me.

“Casey is a good friend. We've been texting back and forth, looking forward to meeting back up this weekend.” Both budding goalkeepers idolised Tim Howard and Brosnan has managed to extend the US presence at his former club Everton by grasping the first-choice slot for their women’s super league side.

Two draws – including one against Liverpool at Goodison Park – and a victory over Tottenham has them sitting sixth of 12 teams in the table and her form has caught the eye of the men’s captain and compatriot Séamus Coleman.

“Tim and Séamus have both made over 350 Premier League appearances, so you can't really get two better role models,” she observed.

“Séamus is a great guy. I think everybody knows that but something that sticks out for me was when I got back to Everton after we beat Scotland and qualified for the World Cup.

“He was one of the first to come up to me, give me a hug and just say how proud he was and how the whole country was behind us.

“It made it really special for me but that just shows the character he is.”