2025 North Carolina Courage season

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.

North Carolina Courage

2025 season
Managing Owner	Steve Malik
Club President	Francie Gottsegen
Head Coach	Nathan Thackeray (acting)
Stadium	Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Cary, North Carolina (Capacity: 10,000)
NWSL Regular Season	9th
Top goalscorer	Manaka Matsubuko (4)
Highest home attendance	9,366 (May 10 vs ORL)
Lowest home attendance	6,235 (Apr 26 vs KC)
Average home league attendance	7,674
Home colors Away colors
← 2024 2026 →
All statistics correct as of November 9, 2024.

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	USA	Casey Murphy
2	MF	USA	Ashley Sanchez
3	DF	USA	Kaleigh Kurtz
7	DF	USA	Malia Berkely
8	MF	USA	Brianna Pinto
9	FW	USA	Olivia Wingate
10	MF	IRL	Denise O'Sullivan
11	DF	GER	Feli Rauch
12	DF	USA	Natalia Staude
13	DF	USA	Ryan Williams
14	FW	USA	Tyler Lussi
16	MF	USA	Riley Jackson
17	MF	USA	Dani Weatherholt
18	DF	CAN	Sydney Collins
19	MF	USA	Jaedyn Shaw
20	MF	JPN	Shinomi Koyama
22	FW	AUS	Cortnee Vine
24	DF	CAN	Brooklyn Courtnall
25	MF	USA	Meredith Speck
27	DF	USA	Maycee Bell
30	FW	USA	Hannah Betfort
33	DF	AUS	Charlotte McLean
34	MF	JPN	Manaka Matsukubo
44	GK	USA	Marisa Jordan
77	FW	BRA	Aline Gomes Amaro
--	GK	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	Nathan Thackeray (acting)
Assistant Coach	Nathan Thackeray
Assistant Coach	Emma Thomson
Assistant Coach	Victoria Boardman
Assistant General Manager	Bobby Hammond

Competitions

  Win   Tie   Loss

Friendlies

North Carolina Courage v Tigres UANL Femenil

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.

North Carolina Courage v Chivas de Guadalajara Femenil

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

Racing Louisville v North Carolina Courage

March 15, 2025 (2025-03-15) 1	Racing Louisville	1-1	North Carolina Courage	Louisville, Kentucky
5:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)	Sears 13'	Report	Lussi  63' Jackson 69'	Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium Attendance: 2847 Referee: Adorae Monroy

North Carolina Courage v Seattle Reign

March 25, 2025 (2025-03-25) 2	North Carolina Courage	1-2	Seattle Reign	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)	Gomes 59'	Report	Fishlock 35' Bugg 56'	Stadium: First Horizon Stadium Attendance: 8158 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic

Portland Thorns v North Carolina Courage

March 29, 2025 (2025-03-29) 3	Portland Thorns	0-0	North Carolina Courage	Portland, Oregon
10:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)	Castellanos  51'	Report		Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 15967 Referee: Elton Garcia

Gotham FC v North Carolina Courage

April 13, 2025 (2025-04-13) 4	Gotham FC	3-1	North Carolina Courage	Harrison, New Jersey
4:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)	Stevens  26' Esther 43', 45+4' Reale 46'	Report	Jackson  79' Pinto 90+4'	Stadium: Sports Illustrated Stadium Attendance: 7115 Referee: Joshua Encarnación

North Carolina Courage v Bay FC

April 19, 2025 (2025-04-19) 5	North Carolina Courage	0-1	Bay FC	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)	Rauch  53' Matsukubo  90+1' Williams  90+5'	Report	Pickett 33' Dydasco  87'	Stadium: First Horizon Stadium Referee: Iryna Petrunok

North Carolina Courage v Kansas City Current

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)	Shaw  30' Bell  34' Williams 52' Kurtz 90' Sanchez 90+3'	Report	Hopkins 39' Zaneratto 57' Mace  64'	Stadium: First Horizon Stadium Attendance: 6235 Referee: Shawn Tehini

Utah Royals FC v North Carolina Courage

May 3, 2025 (2025-05-03) 7	Utah Royals FC	0-2	North Carolina Courage	Sandy, Utah
10:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)	Cluff  90+1'	Report	Sanchez 12' Del Fava 43' (o.g.) Koyama  54'	Stadium: America First Field Attendance: 7371 Referee: Laura Rodriguez

North Carolina Courage v Orlando Pride

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)	Rauch 27' Matsukubo  60'	Report	Abello  33' Chilufya 90+3'	Stadium: First Horizon Stadium Attendance: 9366 Referee: Brad Jensen

North Carolina Courage v Chicago Stars

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)	Jackson  29' Matsukubo 51', 77'	Report	Onwualu  67' Malham  90+2'	Stadium: First Horizon Stadium Attendance: 8592 Referee: Jaclyn Metz

San Diego Wave v North Carolina Courage

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)	Morroni 25' Leon 40', 60' McNabb 54' Sánchez 90+5'	Report	Rauch 12' O'Sullivan  27' Matsukubo 51'	Stadium: Snapdragon Stadium Attendance: 12760 Referee: Elijio Arreguin

Washington Spirit v North Carolina Courage

June 8, 2025 (2025-06-08) 11	Washington Spirit	3-1	North Carolina Courage	Washington, D.C.
4:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-5)	Brown 24' Ratcliffe 27' Monday 58'	Report	Matsukubo 32'	Stadium: Audi Field Attendance: 17625 Referee: Brandon Stevis

Angel City FC v North Carolina Courage

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)	Tiernan 11'	Report	Vine 1' Matsukubo  45+3' Betfort  89' Pinto 90+5'	Stadium: BMO Stadium Attendance: 14933 Referee: Nabil Bensalah

North Carolina Courage v Houston Dash

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)	Shaw 71' Betfort 81'  90+10'	Report	Patterson 1' Puntigam  45'  69' Olivieri  67'	Stadium: First Horizon Stadium Attendance: 6642 Referee: Calin Radosav

North Carolina Courage v San Diego Wave

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

Houston Dash v North Carolina Courage

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

North Carolina Courage v Portland Thorns

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

Chicago Stars v North Carolina Courage

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

Kansas City Current v North Carolina

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

North Carolina Courage v Utah Royals FC

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

North Carolina Courage v Angel City FC

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)

Orlando Pride v North Carolina Courage

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

Seattle Reign v North Carolina Courage

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

North Carolina Courage v Racing Louisville

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

North Carolina Courage v Washington Spirit

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

Bay FC v North Carolina Courage

October 17, 2025 (2025-10-17) 25	Bay FC	v	North Carolina Courage	San Jose, California
10:00 p.m.				Stadium: PayPal Park

North Carolina Courage v Gotham FC

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 v t e	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	16	8	4	4	22	12	+10	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	15	7	3	5	21	17	+4	24
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	Houston Dash	16	5	3	8	19	26	−7	18
11	Bay FC	16	4	5	7	18	22	−4	17
12	Angel City FC	16	4	5	7	21	27	−6	17
13	Chicago Stars FC	15	1	5	9	12	29	−17	8
14	Utah Royals	16	1	4	11	12	31	−19	7

Updated to match(es) played on August 17, 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

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
Stadium	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H
Result	D	L	D	L	L	W	W	D	W	L	L	W	W	D
Position[a]	5	10	10	13	14	11	9	11	9	10	11	11	9	9

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	USA	Casey Murphy	13	0	13	0	0	0
44	GK	USA	Marisa Jordan	0	0	0	0	0	0
--	GK	USA	Katie Cappelletti	0	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders:
3	DF	USA	Kaleigh Kurtz	13	1	13	1	0	0
7	DF	USA	Malia Berkely	6	0	6	0	0	0
11	DF	GER	Feli Rauch	9	1	8+1	1	0	0
12	DF	USA	Natalia Staude	7	0	7	0	0	0
13	DF	USA	Ryan Williams	13	1	13	1	0	0
18	DF	CAN	Sydney Collins	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	DF	CAN	Brooklyn Courtnall	2	0	0+2	0	0	0
27	DF	USA	Maycee Bell	11	0	10+1	0	0	0
Midfielders:
2	MF	USA	Ashley Sanchez	13	2	10+3	2	0	0
8	MF	USA	Brianna Pinto	11	2	1+10	2	0	0
10	MF	IRL	Denise O'Sullivan	13	0	13	0	0	0
16	MF	USA	Riley Jackson	13	1	11+2	1	0	0
17	MF	USA	Dani Weatherholt	3	0	0+3	0	0	0
19	MF	USA	Jaedyn Shaw	13	1	8+5	1	0	0
20	MF	JPN	Shinomi Koyama	13	0	6+7	0	0	0
25	MF	USA	Meredith Speck	6	0	2+4	0	0	0
34	MF	JPN	Manaka Matsukubo	13	4	11+2	4	0	0
Forwards:
9	FW	USA	Olivia Wingate	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	FW	USA	Tyler Lussi	8	0	4+4	0	0	0
22	FW	AUS	Cortnee Vine	6	1	3+3	1	0	0
30	FW	USA	Hannah Betfort	11	1	3+8	1	0	0
77	FW	BRA	Aline Gomes Amaro	6	1	1+5	1	0	0
Players who left the club during the season:
--	GK	USA	Hensley Hancuff	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	MF	USA	Michaela Hahn	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	DF	AUS	Charlotte McLean	0	0	0	0	0	0

• Source:

Transactions

Transfers

In

Out

Date	Player	Position	Destination club	Fee/notes	Ref
February 18, 2025	Bianca St-Georges	FW	None	Mutual Termination	[10]
July 14, 2025	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	Ryan Williams	[12]
April	Ryan Williams	[13]
May	Manaka Matsukubo	[14]
June	Manaka Matsukubo	[15]

NWSL Player of the Week

Main article: NWSL Player of the Week § 2025

Week	Nat.	Player	Club	Ref.
9		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		Manaka Matsukubo	Nominee	[17]
11		Manaka Matsukubo	Nominee	[18]

NWSL Save of the Week

Main article: NWSL Save of the Week § 2025

Week	Nat.	Player	Honor	Ref.
1		Casey Murphy	Nominee	[19]
9		Casey Murphy	Nominee	[20]

Team season awards

External links

• Official website

• Women's association football portal