The North Carolina Courage is a professional women's
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team based in
Cary, North Carolina. It was founded on January 9, 2017, after
Stephen Malik Stephen Malik is the owner and chairman of North Carolina FC of United Soccer League and North Carolina Courage of National Women's Soccer League
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of t ...
acquired
National Women's Soccer League
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federati ...
(NWSL) franchise rights from the
Western New York Flash. The Courage is affiliated with the men's team
North Carolina FC of the
United Soccer League
United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...
and plays its home games at the
Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park.
In 2018, the Courage became the first team in NWSL history to win the Shield and the Championship in the same season. In 2019, the team became the first team to win the Championship on its home field.
History
2017
On January 9, 2017, the North Carolina Courage announced their formation as the relocated Western New York Flash, with a new home of Cary, North Carolina. The Courage officially hired
Paul Riley, the Flash's coach prior to relocation, on January 30, 2017. The team played their first match, on April 15, 2017, against the Washington Spirit, and won 1–0 with a goal by
McCall Zerboni. The Courage went on to win the 2017 NWSL Shield and advanced to the 2017 NWSL Championship after defeating the Chicago Red Stars 1–0 in the semifinals, but fell 1–0 to the Portland Thorns in the finals.
2018
In 2018, the Courage had the best season in NWSL history, losing just one of 26 games played during the season. The Courage also participated in and won the inaugural
Women's International Champions Cup.
Heather O'Reilly scored the only goal in the victory over
Olympique Lyon. After clinching the NWSL Shield, the team defeated the Portland Thorns in the 2018 NWSL Championship 3–0.
Jessica McDonald was named the NWSL Championship MVP after scoring two goals in the match.
2019
The Courage returned to the
Women's International Champions Cup finals, but were defeated by returning finalists Olympique Lyon. The Courage were crowned NWSL Champions for the second consecutive season after defeating the Chicago Red Stars, 4–0 in the 2019 NWSL Championship held in Cary, North Carolina.
Debinha was named the NWSL Championship MVP after scoring the fastest goal in NWSL Championship history. The team clinched the NWSL Shield for the third time in as many years on September 21 after defeating Utah Royals FC. The team had an overall record of .
2020
With the NWSL season cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the Courage participated in the inaugural
2020 NWSL Challenge Cup
The 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup was a tournament during the 2020 National Women's Soccer League season to mark the league's return to action from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first professional team sports event to return to play in United States ...
. They were defeated in the semifinals by
Portland Thorns FC. The Courage also participated in the
2020 NWSL Fall Series
The 2020 National Women's Soccer League season was the eighth season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2 ...
, finishing in fifth place.
2021
On January 28, 2021, the club announced that professional tennis player
Naomi Osaka
is a Japanese professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam singles champ ...
had made an investment in the team. Osaka stated that she was inspired to take part ownership by those who had invested in her during her career, and that she wishes to "continue the legacy of women empowerment."
The Courage failed to qualify for the
2021 NWSL Challenge Cup championship, falling one point short in the East Division to
NJ/NY Gotham FC
NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2 ...
.
On September 30, 2021, the club fired head coach
Paul Riley after news of prior sexual abuse allegations emerged against him. The Courage replaced Riley with assistant
Sean Nahas in the interim.
2022
On December 1, 2021, the Courage named former interim head coach
Sean Nahas as head coach for the 2022 season.
Team name, crest, and colors
The team's name is a nod to the original
Carolina Courage
Carolina Courage was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Fetzer Field on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus in 2001, and then at the soccer-specific SAS Stadium in Cary, North Carolina ...
– who won the 2002
Women's United Soccer Association
The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Un ...
(WUSA) Founders Cup – as is the stylized lioness image, which matches the head of the lioness on the WUSA team's badge with very minor alterations. The badge features elements from the
flag of North Carolina with both the star and the color scheme, the latter keeping in line with the NCFC brand. The lower right point of the star represents the
Research Triangle
The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to ...
, a geographical region that includes
Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia
*Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane
*Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area
Canada
*Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbou ...
,
Durham, and
Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
. The Courage's primary colors include "Atlantic blue", "cardinal red," and "Southern gold."
Uniform evolution
Home
Away
Sponsorship
Stadium
The North Carolina Courage play their home games at WakeMed Soccer Park, a
soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi- ...
owned by
Wake County and operated by the
Town of Cary
Cary is a town in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh–Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 Census, its population was 174,721, making it the seventh largest mu ...
. The team shares the venue with
North Carolina FC, a
USL League One team also owned by Stephen Malik.
The soccer complex consists of a purpose-built main stadium, two lighted practice fields, and four additional fields. The main stadium and the two lighted fields (2 & 3) are all
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
international regulation size (120 yards x 75 yards). The main stadium seats 10,000 with the expansions of 2012. Field 2 also has 1,000 permanent bleacher seats.
The park is on that the State of
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
has leased to Wake County. Money to build the soccer park came from $14.5 million in county-wide hotel room and prepared food and beverage taxes. The Town of Cary assumed responsibility for operations and maintenance in 2004 from
Capital Area Soccer League. On January 26, 2006, the Town of Cary council amended its lease to allow it to sublet the property to Triangle Professional Soccer through the year 2011 for the exclusive promotion of professional soccer and lacrosse events at the complex. This deal was extended for the new ownership group through 2014.
Future stadium proposal
On December 6, 2016, along with a name change, North Carolina FC announced plans for a housing and multi-use stadium development — originally announced as seating 24,000, then scaled down to 20,000 seats — in
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Sout ...
, as part of the men's team's bid for a
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
(MLS) expansion franchise. Team owner Stephen Malik and real-estate developer John Kane led investment in the proposal, purchasing 88 acres of land in 2019 and estimating the total project cost to be $1.9 billion.
The MLS expansion bid was put on hold in 2021 along with the stadium plans as the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
consumed municipal funding. The project gained former
BioAgylitix CEO Jim Datin as an investor in June 2022.
Year-by-year
Players
Current squad
Staff
Head coaching history
Honors
*
NWSL Championship
**Winners (2):
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
,
2019
**Runners-up (1):
2017
*
NWSL Shield
The NWSL Shield is an annual award given to the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team with the best regular season record as determined by the NWSL points system. The NWSL Shield has been awarded annually since 2013 and is recognized as a m ...
** Winners (3):
2017,
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
,
2019
*
NWSL Challenge Cup
The NWSL Challenge Cup, currently known as the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tournament organized by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top-tier women's league in the United States soccer league system. Th ...
** Winners (1):
2022
*
Women's International Champions Cup
**Winners (1):
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
**Runners-up (1):
2019
Broadcasting
In 2019, the NWSL broadcast partnership with A&E was terminated a year early, all games would be streamed on Yahoo! Sports in the United States and on the NWSL website for international viewers.
In 2018, Courage games continued to be streamed on
Go90, the NWSL website and select games were broadcast on Lifetime. After
Go90 was shut down by
Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas ...
on July 30, all games were available for streaming on the NWSL website.
In 2017, Courage games were streamed exclusively by
Go90 for American audiences and via the NWSL website for international viewers.
As part of a three-year agreement with
A&E Networks
A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company ...
,
Lifetime broadcasts one ''NWSL Game of the Week'' on Saturday afternoons.
In 2017 season, the Courage were featured in national
Lifetime ''NWSL Game of the Week'' broadcasts on June 3, July 1, August 19, and July 15, 2017.
See also
*
List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada
*
List of top-division football clubs in CONCACAF countries
This is a list of top-division association football clubs in CONCACAF countries. CONCACAF is the football confederation that oversees the sport in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, including the South American countries of Guyan ...
References
External links
*
Courage Country
{{North Carolina Sports
National Women's Soccer League teams
Women's soccer clubs in North Carolina
Soccer clubs in North Carolina
2016 establishments in North Carolina
Association football clubs established in 2016
Sports in Wake County, North Carolina
USL W League teams