2025 North Carolina Courage season

North Carolina Courage
2025 season
Managing OwnerSteve Malik
Club PresidentFrancie Gottsegen
Head CoachNathan Thackeray (acting)
StadiumSahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Cary, North Carolina
(Capacity: 10,000)
NWSL Regular Season9th
Top goalscorerManaka Matsubuko (4)
Highest home attendance9,366
(May 10 vs ORL)
Lowest home attendance6,235
(Apr 26 vs KC)
Average home league attendance7,674
All statistics correct as of November 9, 2024.

The 2025 North Carolina Courage season is the team's ninth season as a professional women's soccer team. The Courage played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top tier of women's soccer in the United States. They reached the mid-season break just outside of a playoff spot, in ninth place - tied on points with eighth-place Gotham FC with 18, but losing the first tiebreaker, goal differential, with a -2 GD compared to Gotham's +5 GD.

Background

See also: 2024 North Carolina Courage season

In the 2024 National Women's Soccer League season, the Courage were never outside of a playoff spot during the season, eventually settling into 5th place for the final 10 weeks of the regular season, before falling to 4th-seeded Kansas City Current in the first round of the playoffs.[1] The Courage also advanced to the knockout rounds of the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup.

Main article: 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup

Coaching Changes

On August 6, 2025, at 7:45 p.m. EDT, the club posted a statement on instagram saying "The North Carolina Courage have terminated the contract of Head Coach Sean Nahas, effective immediately. The North Carolina Courage remain focused on the continued development of the team and maintaining a professional, competitive environment for players, staff, and supporters." [2] [3] [4] No interim head coach was named.

In a press conference at 11 a.m. on August 7th, the club named Nathan Thackeray as Acting Head Coach. When asked about the coaching search, Chief Soccer Officer Dr. Ceri Bowley said "We'll take stock after tomorrow's game." [5]

Team

Squad

As of July 28, 2025.[6]
No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Casey Murphy
2 MF United States USA Ashley Sanchez
3 DF United States USA Kaleigh Kurtz
7 DF United States USA Malia Berkely
8 MF United States USA Brianna Pinto
9 FW United States USA Olivia Wingate
10 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Denise O'Sullivan
11 DF Germany GER Feli Rauch
12 DF United States USA Natalia Staude
13 DF United States USA Ryan Williams
14 FW United States USA Tyler Lussi
16 MF United States USA Riley Jackson
17 MF United States USA Dani Weatherholt
18 DF Canada CAN Sydney Collins
19 MF United States USA Jaedyn Shaw
20 MF Japan JPN Shinomi Koyama
22 FW Australia AUS Cortnee Vine
24 DF Canada CAN Brooklyn Courtnall
25 MF United States USA Meredith Speck
27 DF United States USA Maycee Bell
30 FW United States USA Hannah Betfort
33 DF Australia AUS Charlotte McLean
34 MF Japan JPN Manaka Matsukubo
44 GK United States USA Marisa Jordan
77 FW Brazil BRA Aline Gomes Amaro
-- GK United States USA Katie Cappelletti

Staff

As of July 28, 2025.[7][8][9]
Executive
Chairman Steve Malik
President Francie Gottsegen
Chief Operating Officer Ralph Vuono
Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director Dr. Ceri Bowley
Executive Vice President, Special Projects Pete Sciandra
Coaching
Head Coach England Nathan Thackeray (acting)
Assistant Coach England Nathan Thackeray
Assistant Coach England Emma Thomson
Assistant Coach United States Victoria Boardman
Assistant General Manager United States Bobby Hammond

Competitions

  Win   Tie   Loss

Friendlies

July 9, 2025 (2025-07-09) North Carolina Courage 0-0 Tigres UANL Femenil Cary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5) Report Stadium: First Horizon Stadium
Note: Match was suspended in the 77' due to heavy rain.
July 25, 2025 (2025-07-25) North Carolina Courage 4-0 Chivas de Guadalajara Femenil Cary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5)
  • Lussi 4'
  • Sanchez 13'
  • Courtnall 15'
  • Gomes 76'
 Report Stadium: First Horizon Stadium


Regular Season

March 15, 2025 (2025-03-15) 1 Racing Louisville 1-1 North Carolina Courage Louisville, Kentucky
5:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium
Attendance: 2847
Referee: Adorae Monroy
March 25, 2025 (2025-03-25) 2 North Carolina Courage 1-2 Seattle Reign Cary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: First Horizon Stadium
Attendance: 8158
Referee: Elvis Osmanovic
March 29, 2025 (2025-03-29) 3 Portland Thorns 0-0 North Carolina Courage Portland, Oregon
10:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report Stadium: Providence Park
Attendance: 15967
Referee: Elton Garcia
April 13, 2025 (2025-04-13) 4 Gotham FC 3-1 North Carolina Courage Harrison, New Jersey
4:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Sports Illustrated Stadium
Attendance: 7115
Referee: Joshua Encarnación
April 19, 2025 (2025-04-19) 5 North Carolina Courage 0-1 Bay FC Cary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: First Horizon Stadium
Referee: Iryna Petrunok
April 26, 2025 (2025-04-26) 6 North Carolina Courage 3-2 Kansas City Current Cary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: First Horizon Stadium
Attendance: 6235
Referee: Shawn Tehini
May 3, 2025 (2025-05-03) 7 Utah Royals FC 0-2 North Carolina Courage Sandy, Utah
10:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 7371
Referee: Laura Rodriguez
May 10, 2025 (2025-05-10) 8 North Carolina Courage 1-1 Orlando Pride Cary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: First Horizon Stadium
Attendance: 9366
Referee: Brad Jensen
May 17, 2025 (2025-05-17) 9 North Carolina Courage 2-0 Chicago Stars Cary, North Carolina
5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: First Horizon Stadium
Attendance: 8592
Referee: Jaclyn Metz
May 25, 2025 (2025-05-25) 10 San Diego Wave 5-2 North Carolina Courage San Diego, California
10:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Snapdragon Stadium
Attendance: 12760
Referee: Elijio Arreguin
June 8, 2025 (2025-06-08) 11 Washington Spirit 3-1 North Carolina Courage Washington, D.C.
4:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 17625
Referee: Brandon Stevis
June 14, 2025 (2025-06-14) 12 Angel City FC 1-2 North Carolina Courage Los Angeles, California
10:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: BMO Stadium
Attendance: 14933
Referee: Nabil Bensalah
June 21, 2025 (2025-06-21) 13 North Carolina Courage 2-1 Houston Dash Cary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5)
Report
Stadium: First Horizon Stadium
Attendance: 6642
Referee: Calin Radosav
August 2, 2025 (2025-08-02) 14 North Carolina Courage 0–0 San Diego Wave Cary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5) Report Stadium: First Horizon Stadium
Attendance: 7,109
Referee: Elvis Osmanovic
August 8, 2025 (2025-08-08) 15 Houston Dash v North Carolina Courage Houston, TX
8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5) Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium
August 16, 2025 (2025-08-16) 16 North Carolina Courage v Portland Thorns Cary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5) Stadium: First Horizon Stadium
August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22) 17 Chicago Stars v North Carolina Courage Bridgeview, Illinois
8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5) Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
August 30, 2025 (2025-08-30) 18 Kansas City Current v North Carolina Kansas City, Kansas
7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5) Stadium: CPKC Stadium
September 6, 2025 (2025-09-06) 19 North Carolina Courage v Utah Royals FC Cary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5) Stadium: First Horizon Stadium
September 13, 2025 (2025-09-13) 20 North Carolina Courage v Angel City FC First Horizon Stadium
12:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5)
September 19, 2025 (2025-09-19) 21 Orlando Pride v North Carolina Courage Orlando, Florida
7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5) Stadium: Inter&Co Stadium
September 28, 2025 (2025-09-28) 22 Seattle Reign v North Carolina Courage Seattle, Washington
8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5) Stadium: Lumen Field
October 4, 2025 (2025-10-04) 23 North Carolina Courage v Racing Louisville Cary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5) Stadium: First Horizon Stadium
October 11, 2025 (2025-10-11) 24 North Carolina Courage v Washington Spirit Cary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-5) Stadium: First Horizon Stadium
October 17, 2025 (2025-10-17) 25 Bay FC v North Carolina Courage San Jose, California
10:00 p.m. Stadium: PayPal Park
November 2, 2025 (2025-11-02) 26 North Carolina Courage v Gotham FC Cary, North Carolina
TBD Stadium: First Horizon Stadium


Regular Season Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Kansas City Current 16 13 1 2 32 10 +22 40 NWSL Shield, playoffs, and CONCACAF W Champions Cup
2 San Diego Wave FC 16 8 5 3 28 18 +10 29 Playoffs, and CONCACAF W Champions Cup
3 Orlando Pride 17 8 4 5 22 13 +9 28 Playoffs
4 Washington Spirit 16 8 4 4 25 22 +3 28
5 Portland Thorns FC 16 7 5 4 25 17 +8 26
6 Seattle Reign FC 16 7 4 5 24 20 +4 25
7 Racing Louisville FC 16 6 4 6 22 27 −5 22
8 Gotham FC 16 5 5 6 20 16 +4 20
9 North Carolina Courage 16 5 5 6 20 23 −3 20
10 Angel City FC 17 5 5 7 22 27 −5 20
11 Houston Dash 16 5 3 8 19 26 −7 18
12 Bay FC 16 4 5 7 18 22 −4 17
13 Chicago Stars FC 16 1 6 9 15 32 −17 9
14 Utah Royals 16 1 4 11 12 31 −19 7
Updated to match(es) played on August 21, 2025. Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total goal differential; 3) total wins; 4) total goals scored; 5) head to head points; 6) head to head goal goals scored; 7) fewer disciplinary points; 8) coin toss (2 clubs tied) or drawing of lots (≥3 clubs tied)


Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld Pts W L T GF GA GD W L T GF GA GD W L T GF GA GD
13 18 5 5 3 18 20  −2 3 2 1 9 7  +2 2 3 2 9 13  −4

Last updated: July 28,2025
Source: NWSLsoccer.com
Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference


Results by matchday

Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
StadiumAHAAHHAHHAAAHHAHAAHHAAHHAH
ResultDLDLLWWDWLLWWD
Position[a]51010131411911910111199
Updated to match(es) played on July 28, 2025. Source: NWSL soccer.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
  1. ^ NC's position at the end of the day in which their match was played.

Appearances and Goals

As of July 28, 2025
No. Pos Nat Player Total Regular season Playoffs
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Goalkeepers:
1 GK United States USA Casey Murphy 13 0 13 0 0 0
44 GK United States USA Marisa Jordan 0 0 0 0 0 0
-- GK United States USA Katie Cappelletti 0 0 0 0 0 0
Defenders:
3 DF United States USA Kaleigh Kurtz 13 1 13 1 0 0
7 DF United States USA Malia Berkely 6 0 6 0 0 0
11 DF Germany GER Feli Rauch 9 1 8+1 1 0 0
12 DF United States USA Natalia Staude 7 0 7 0 0 0
13 DF United States USA Ryan Williams 13 1 13 1 0 0
18 DF Canada CAN Sydney Collins 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 DF Canada CAN Brooklyn Courtnall 2 0 0+2 0 0 0
27 DF United States USA Maycee Bell 11 0 10+1 0 0 0
Midfielders:
2 MF United States USA Ashley Sanchez 13 2 10+3 2 0 0
8 MF United States USA Brianna Pinto 11 2 1+10 2 0 0
10 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Denise O'Sullivan 13 0 13 0 0 0
16 MF United States USA Riley Jackson 13 1 11+2 1 0 0
17 MF United States USA Dani Weatherholt 3 0 0+3 0 0 0
19 MF United States USA Jaedyn Shaw 13 1 8+5 1 0 0
20 MF Japan JPN Shinomi Koyama 13 0 6+7 0 0 0
25 MF United States USA Meredith Speck 6 0 2+4 0 0 0
34 MF Japan JPN Manaka Matsukubo 13 4 11+2 4 0 0
Forwards:
9 FW United States USA Olivia Wingate 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 FW United States USA Tyler Lussi 8 0 4+4 0 0 0
22 FW Australia AUS Cortnee Vine 6 1 3+3 1 0 0
30 FW United States USA Hannah Betfort 11 1 3+8 1 0 0
77 FW Brazil BRA Aline Gomes Amaro 6 1 1+5 1 0 0
Players who left the club during the season:
-- GK United States USA Hensley Hancuff 0 0 0 0 0 0
22 MF United States USA Michaela Hahn 0 0 0 0 0 0
33 DF Australia AUS Charlotte McLean 0 0 0 0 0 0

Transactions

Transfers

In

Out

Date Player Position Destination club Fee/notes Ref
February 18, 2025 Canada Bianca St-Georges FW None Mutual Termination [10]
July 14, 2025 Australia Charlotte McLean DF Tampa Bay Sun FC (USLS) Loan

[11]

Loans

Contracts

Options Exercised

Extensions

Awards

NWSL season awards

NWSL Player of the Month

Main article: NWSL Player of the Month § 2025

NWSL Best XI of the Month

Main article: NWSL Best XI of the Month § 2025
Month Player Ref.
March United States Ryan Williams [12]
April United States Ryan Williams [13]
May Japan Manaka Matsukubo [14]
June Japan Manaka Matsukubo [15]

NWSL Player of the Week

Main article: NWSL Player of the Week § 2025
Week Nat. Player Club Ref.
9
Japan
 Manaka Matsukubo North Carolina Courage [16]

NWSL Goal of the Week

Main article: NWSL Goal of the Week § 2025
Week Nat. Player Honor Ref.
9 Japan Manaka Matsukubo Nominee [17]
11 Japan Manaka Matsukubo Nominee [18]

NWSL Save of the Week

Main article: NWSL Save of the Week § 2025
Week Nat. Player Honor Ref.
1 United States Casey Murphy Nominee [19]
9 United States Casey Murphy Nominee [20]

Team season awards

References

  1. ^ "Kansas City Current advance to NWSL semifinals with 1-0 win against North Carolina Courage". The Washington Post. Associated Press. November 9, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  2. ^ @thenccourage; (August 6, 2025). "(none)" – via Instagram.
  3. ^ "North Carolina Courage terminates head coach Sean Nahas' contract 'effective immediately'". August 6, 2025.
  4. ^ "NC Courage fire head coach in middle of the season". August 6, 2025.
  5. ^ "no word on next coaching hire". The Lions Pitch @lionspitch.bsky.social. August 7, 2025.
  6. ^ "NC Courage Roster". Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  7. ^ "Ownership". North Carolina Courage. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  8. ^ "Technical Staff". North Carolina Courage. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  9. ^ "Front Office". North Carolina Courage. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  10. ^ "NC Courage and Bianca St-Georges Agree to Mutual Termination". NC Courage. February 18, 2025. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  11. ^ "NC Courage Loan Charlotte McLean to Tampa Bay Sun FC". North Carolina Courage. July 15, 2025. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  12. ^ "Ryan Williams Named to NWSL Best XI for March". NC Courage.
  13. ^ "NC Courage Defender Ryan Williams Named to NWSL Best XI of April". NC Courage.
  14. ^ "Manaka Matsukubo Named to NWSL Best XI for May". NC Courage.
  15. ^ "Manaka Matsukubo Named to NWSL Best XI for June". NC Courage.
  16. ^ National Women's Soccer League [@NWSL] (May 20, 2025). "Manaka Magic ✨✨" (Tweet). Retrieved May 20, 2025 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ National Women's Soccer League [@NWSL] (May 19, 2025). "These goals turned heads in Week 9 🎯language=en" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ National Women's Soccer League [@NWSL] (June 9, 2025). "These goals left us 😳😦" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ National Women's Soccer League [@NWSL] (March 17, 2025). "Five times goalkeepers said "not today" 🚫" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ^ National Women's Soccer League [@NWSL] (May 19, 2025). "Big saves in even bigger moments 🧱🧤" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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