2019 North Carolina Courage season

The 2019 North Carolina Courage season is the team's third season as a professional women's soccer team. North Carolina Courage plays in the National Women's Soccer League, the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.

North Carolina Courage
2019 season
OwnerStephen Malik
General ManagerCurt Johnson
Head CoachPaul Riley
StadiumSahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Cary, North Carolina
(Capacity: 10,000)
NWSL Regular Season1st
NWSL PlayoffsChampions
Top goalscorerLynn Williams (12)
Highest home attendance9,563
(September 14th vs. Orlando)
Lowest home attendance4,053
(April 13th vs. Chicago)
Average home league attendance5,875
Biggest win6–0 (September 11th vs. Portland)
Biggest defeat1–3 (May 11th vs. Chicago)

On September 21st, the Courage clinched their third consecutive Shield with a 3–0 victory over the Utah Royals.[1]

On October 27th, the Courage defeated the Chicago Red Stars 4–0 to win their second consecutive NWSL Championship.[2]

Team

Coaching Staff
As of May 31, 2018
Source: North Carolina Courage[3]
Position Staff
Head Coach Paul Riley
Assistant Coach Scott Vallow
Assistant Coach Bill Paladino
Assistant Coach Sean Nahas
Assistant Coach Nathan Thackeray

First-team roster
As of July 18, 2019[4][5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 GK Stephanie Labbé
3 DF Kaleigh Kurtz
4 FW McKenzie Meehan
5 MF Sam Mewis
6 DF Abby Erceg
7 MF McCall Zerboni
8 MF Denise O'Sullivan
9 FW Lynn Williams
10 MF Debinha
11 DF Merritt Mathias
12 FW Leah Pruitt
13 DF Abby Dahlkemper
14 FW Jessica McDonald
No. Position Player
15 DF Jaelene Hinkle
16 MF Julia Spetsmark
17 MF Heather O'Reilly
19 FW Crystal Dunn
20 MF Ryan Williams
21 DF Cari Roccaro
23 FW Kristen Hamilton
25 DF Meredith Speck
26 DF Hailey Harbison
27 MF Lauren Milliet
37 GK Sam Leshnak
99 GK Katelyn Rowland

Player transactions

2019 NWSL College Draft
Source: National Women's Soccer League[6]
Round Pick Nat. Player Previous Team
Round 15Leah PruittUSC
Round 19Hailey HarbisonPepperdine
Round 214Lauren MillietColorado College
Round 436Kaycie TillmanFlorida State

Players In
Date Player Positions played Previous club Fee/notes Ref.
January 7, 2019 Julia Spetsmark DF Djurgårdens Signed. [7]
February 12, 2019 Ally Haran DF UMF Selfoss Signed. [8]
February 22, 2019 Stephanie Labbé GK Linköpings FC Signed. [9]
June 11, 2019 McKenzie Meehan FW Sky Blue FC Acquired in a Trade with Sky Blue FC in exchange for Elizabeth Eddy [10]
July 18, 2019 Sam Leshnak GK North Carolina Tar Heels Signed. [11]

Players Out
Date Player Positions played Destination club Fee/notes Ref.
October 1, 2018 Yuri Kawamura DF unattached Waived. [12]
December 17, 2018 Darian Jenkins FW Reign FC Traded to Reign FC in exchange for Reign FC's 9th overall pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft. [13]
January 4, 2019 Sabrina D'Angelo GK Vittsjö Signed with Vittsjö. [14]
April 4, 2019 Morgan Reid DF Orlando Pride Traded to the Orlando Pride in exchange for Orlando's fourth round pick in the 2020 NWSL College Draft. [15]
June 11, 2019 Elizabeth Eddy MF Sky Blue FC Traded to Sky Blue FC in exchange for McKenzie Meehan. [10]
July 18, 2019 Julie King DF Waived. [11]
July 18, 2019 Ally Haran DF Waived. [11]

Competitions

National Women's Soccer League
See also: 2019 National Women's Soccer League season

Preseason
Source: North Carolina Courage[16]
March 23 (23-03) North Carolina Courage4–0Orlando PrideCary, North Carolina
1:00 p.m. ET Speck  35'
McDonald  61' (Williams)
Williams  69' (Pruitt)
Spetsmark  89' (Eddy)		 Report Morgan  45+1' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,220

Regular season
Source: North Carolina Courage[17]
April 13 (13-04) 1North Carolina Courage1–1Chicago Red StarsCary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT Dunn  66' Report Kerr  26' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,053
April 17 (17-04) 2North Carolina Courage5–0Orlando PrideCary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT Williams  45'
O'Sullivan  45+1'
McDonald  55'
Zerboni  64'
Dunn  70', 77'
Spetsmark  88'		 Report Marta  85' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,292
Referee: Danielle Chesky
April 28 (28-04) 3Houston Dash1–4North Carolina CourageHouston, Texas
5:00 p.m. CDT Daly  86'
Schmidt  44'		 Report Williams  45+1'
Dunn  69'
Debinha  69'
Pruitt  76'		 Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium
Attendance: 2,933
May 04 (04-05) 4North Carolina Courage0–0Sky Blue FCCary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT Zerboni  87' Report Monaghan  34' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 5,039
May 11 (11-05) 5Chicago Red Stars3–1North Carolina CourageBridgeview, Illinois
5:00 p.m. EDT Kerr  13'  90+3'
Vasconcelos  40'
Stanton  72'		 Report Williams  33',  80' Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 2,113
May 19 (19-05) 6North Carolina Courage1–1Utah Royals FCCary, North Carolina
5:00 p.m. EDT Eddy  78' Box Rodriguez  7',  40' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,821
May 27 (27-05) 7Reign FC2–1North Carolina CourageTacoma, Washington
4:00 p.m. PDT Balcer  13'

Nielsen  30' Groom  89'		 Box Erceg  89' Stadium: Cheney Stadium
Attendance: 3,032
June 01 (01-06) 8Orlando Pride0–3North Carolina CourageOrlando, Florida
7:30 p.m. EDT
Box
Stadium: Orlando City Stadium
Attendance: 4,427
June 15 (15-06) 9North Carolina Courage1–1Portland Thorns FCCary, North Carolina
7:45 p.m. EDT
Box
Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 6,172
Note: doubleheader with North Carolina FC.
June 29 (29-06) 10Washington Spirit1–2North Carolina CourageGermantown, Maryland
7:00 p.m. EDT Harrison  39'
Thomas  82'		 Debinha  45+4'
Pritchett  53'
Zerboni  90+3'		 Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex
Attendance: 3,481
July 05 (05-07) 11North Carolina Courage5–2Houston DashCary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT
Box
Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 5,066
July 13 (13-07) 12North Carolina Courage2–0Reign FCCary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT Williams  22'
Debinha  55'
O'Sullivan  70'		 Box
Report		 Balcer  87' Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 6,216
July 21 (21-07) 13Chicago Red Stars2–1North Carolina CourageBridgeview, Illinois
5:00 p.m. CDT Naughton  14'
DiBernardo  37'
Kerr  58'		 Williams  30'
McDonald  51'		 Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 17,388
Note: Game was broadcast on ESPN 2
July 27 (27-07) 14Utah Royals FC1–2North Carolina CourageSandy, Utah
8:00 p.m. MDT Press  13' Hamilton  34'
McDonald  54'		 Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 10,545
August 03 (03-08) 15North Carolina Courage1–0Washington SpiritCary, North Carolina
4:00 p.m. EDT Debinha  64'
Spetsmark  90+4'		 Nielsen  24' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,393
Note: Rescheduled from August 2 due to thunderstorms.
August 11 (11-08) 16Portland Thorns FC2–1North Carolina CouragePortland, Oregon
12:00 p.m. PDT Foord  19'
Labbé  56' (o.g)
Erceg  82' (o.g)		 Dunn  4' Stadium: Providence Park
Attendance: 25,218
Note: Game was broadcast on ESPNews
August 24 (24-08) 17North Carolina Courage1–0Reign FCCary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT L. Williams  82' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 6,743
September 07 (07-09) 18Sky Blue FC1–2North Carolina CouragePiscataway, New Jersey
3:00 p.m. EDT Lloyd  13' (p)
Rodriguez  79'		 Skroski  1' (og)
Dunn  57'		 Stadium: Yurcak Field
Attendance: 2,895
September 11 (11-09) 19Portland Thorns FC0–6North Carolina CouragePortland, Oregon
7:30 p.m. PDT Klingenberg  57'
Horan  58'		 Debinha  15'
L. Williams  21', 24', 68'
Dunn  61'
Hinkle  69'
Hamilton  89'		 Stadium: Providence Park
Attendance: 17,517
September 14 (14-09) 20North Carolina Courage6–1Orlando PrideCary, North Carolina
6:00 p.m. EDT Williams  6'
Edmonds  37' (o.g)
McDonald  41'
Meehan  78'
O'Reilly  85'
Debinha  90+2'		 Greening  11'
Kennedy  28'
Elinsky  28'
Hill  82'		 Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 9,563
September 17 (17-09) 21North Carolina Courage1–0Houston DashCary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. EDT Mewis  87' (p) Report Daly  73'
Brooks  74'
Mewis  86'		 Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,943
September 21 (21-09) 22Utah Royals FC0–3North Carolina CourageSandy, Utah
7:00 p.m. MDT Mewis  30' (p)
O'Sullivan  35'
Hinkle  65'
Debinha  70'		 Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 9,946
September 28 (28-09) 23Washington Spirit2–1North Carolina CourageGermantown, Maryland
7:00 p.m. EDT Huster  56'
Matthews  59'
Pugh  75'
Lavelle  84'		 Williams  45+2'
Erceg  86'		 Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex
October 12 (12-10) 24North Carolina Courage3–2Sky Blue FCCary, North Carolina
7:00 p.m. EDT McDonald  16'
Debinha  28'
McDonald  81'		 Report Lloyd  26'
Richardson  86'		 Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 9,195

Postseason playoffs
October 20 (20-10) SemifinalNorth Carolina Courage4–1Reign FCCary, North Carolina
1:30 p.m. EDT O'Reily  88'
Debinha  99'
Barnes  106' (o.g.)
Dunn  107'		 Report Long  50'
Onumonu  90+3'		 Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Note: Televised on ESPN2
October 27 (27-10) FinalNorth Carolina Courage4–0Chicago Red StarsCary, North Carolina
3:30 p.m. EST Debinha  4'
McDonald  26'
Dunn  45+5'
Mewis  62'
Zerboni  74'		 Report DiBernardo  47'
Ertz  67'		 Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 10,227
Note: Televised on ESPN

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 North Carolina Courage (C) 24 15 4 5 54 23 +31 49 NWSL Shield
2 Chicago Red Stars 24 14 2 8 41 28 +13 44 NWSL Playoffs
3 Portland Thorns FC 24 11 7 6 40 31 +9 40
4 Reign FC 24 10 8 6 27 27 0 38
5 Washington Spirit 24 9 7 8 30 25 +5 34
6 Utah Royals FC 24 10 4 10 25 25 0 34
7 Houston Dash 24 7 5 12 21 36 −15 26
8 Sky Blue FC 24 5 5 14 20 34 −14 20
9 Orlando Pride 24 4 4 16 24 53 −29 16
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champion.
Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
24 15 4 5 54 23  +31 49 8 4 0 27 8  +19 7 0 5 27 15  +12

Last updated: October 12, 2019.
Source: NWSLsoccer.com

Results by round
Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324
GroundHHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHAAHHAAH
ResultDWWDLDLWDWWWLWWLWWWWWWLW
Position311245744521221322111111
Updated to match(es) played on October 12, 2019. Source: NWSLsoccer.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

International friendlies
Main article: 2019 Women's International Champions Cup

As defending 2018 NWSL champions and defending 2018 Women's ICC champions, the Courage were selected to participate in and host the 2019 Women's International Champions Cup. They are scheduled to play English side Manchester City in the semi-final round.

August 15 (15-08) Semi-finalNorth Carolina Courage 2–1 Manchester CityCary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. ET O'Sullivan  80'
Meehan  84'
McDonald  90+2'		 Report Stanway  41' Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 5,436
August 18 (18-08) FinalNorth Carolina Courage 0–1 LyonCary, North Carolina
7:30 p.m. ET Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Note: Broadcast on ESPN2

Statistical leaders
As of October 12, 2019

Awards
As of October 19, 2019.

NWSL Annual Awards
See also: NWSL awards

NWSL Monthly Awards

NWSL Player of the Month
Month Result Player Ref.
April Won Crystal Dunn [19]
July Won Kristen Hamilton [20]

NWSL Team of the Month
Month Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards Ref
April Abby Erceg Crystal Dunn [21]
May Merritt Mathias [22]
June Kristen Hamilton [23]
July Abby Erceg
Merritt Mathias		 Debinha Kristen Hamilton [24]
August Abby Erceg
Jaelene Hinkle		 Debinha [25]
September Jaelene Hinkle Debinha Lynn Williams [26]

NWSL Weekly Awards

NWSL Player of the Week
Week Result Player Ref.
8 Won Kristen Hamilton [27]
12 Won Kristen Hamilton [28]
15 Won Kristen Hamilton [29]
22 Won Lynn Williams [30]
25 Won Jessica McDonald [31]

NWSL Goal of the Week
Week Result Player Ref.
1 Nominated Crystal Dunn [32]
3 Nominated Crystal Dunn [33]
6 Nominated Elizabeth Eddy [34]
8 Nominated Kristen Hamilton [35]
9 Nominated Julia Spetsmark [36]
11 Nominated Leah Pruitt [37]
12 Nominated Kristen Hamilton [38]
13 Nominated Debinha [39]
15 Nominated Kristen Hamilton [40]
16 Nominated Debinha [41]
17 Nominated Crystal Dunn
19 Nominated Lynn Williams
21 Nominated Crystal Dunn
22 Won Heather O'Reilly

NWSL Save of the Week
Week Result Player Ref.
4 Nominated Merritt Mathias [42]
7 Nominated Merritt Mathias [43]
11 Nominated Katelyn Rowland [44]
16 Nominated Stephanie Labbé [45]
17 Nominated Stephanie Labbé
23 Nominated Stephanie Labbé

References
  1. "North Carolina FC claims third-straight NWSL Shield with 3-0 win over Utah Royals FC". Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  2. Levine, Matthew. "North Carolina Courage rolls past Chicago Red Stars to win second consecutive NWSL Championship". nwslsoccer.com. NWSL. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  3. "2018 Coaching Staff". North Carolina FC. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  4. "NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE ANNOUNCE 2019 ROSTER IN ADVANCE OF HOME OPENER". April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  5. "NC COURAGE SIGNS COLLEGE DRAFT PICKS PRUITT, HARBISON, AND MILLIET". Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  6. "Every pick of the 2019 NWSL College Draft". www.nwslsoccer.com. National Women's Soccer League. January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  7. "NC COURAGE ACQUIRE SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL MIDFIELDER JULIA SPETSMARK". January 7, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  8. "NWSL notes: After year in Iceland, defender Ally Haran joins NC Courage". February 12, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  9. "NC COURAGE ACQUIRE CANADIAN GOALKEEPER STEPHANIE LABBÉ". February 22, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  10. "Sky Blue FC Acquires Elizabeth Eddy in a Trade with North Carolina Courage". June 11, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  11. "NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE SIGNS GOALKEEPER SAM LESHNAK". July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  12. "NWSL players available on the Re-Entry Wire". October 1, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  13. "Seattle Reign acquire Darian Jenkins from North Carolina". December 17, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  14. "D'Angelo Leaving For Sweden Soccer". January 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
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  17. "2019 Season Schedule". www.nccourage.com. NC Courage. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  18. "Kailen Sheridan Nominated for 2019 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year". Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  19. "April Player of the Month: Crystal Dunn". www.nwslsoccer.com. National Women's Soccer League. May 1, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  20. "July Player of the Month: Kristen Hamilton". www.nwslsoccer.com. National Women's Soccer League. July 31, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  21. Balf, Celia (May 3, 2019). "March Team of the Month". NWSLsoccer. NWSL. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
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  23. "June Team of the Month". 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  24. "July Team of the Month". August 3, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
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  28. "Kristen Hamilton, North Carolina Courage Week 12 #NWSL Player of the Week". Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  29. "Week 15 Player of the Week: Kristen Hamilton, North Carolina Courage". Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  30. "Week 22 Player of the Week: Lynn Williams, North Carolina Courage". September 17, 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  31. Levine, Matthew. "Week 25 Player of the Week: Jessica McDonald, North Carolina Courage". NWSLsoccer.com. NWSL. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
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  35. "Week 8 Goal of the Week Nominees". National Women's Soccer League twitter. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  36. "Week 9 Goal of the Week Nominees". National Women's Soccer League twitter. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  37. "Week 11 Goal of the Week Nominees". National Women's Soccer League twitter. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  38. "Week 12 Goal of the Week nominees #NWSL 2019". YouTube. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  39. "Week 13 Goal of the Week nominees #NWSL 2019". NWSL Twitter. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  40. "Week 15 Goal of the Week nominees #NWSL 2019". YouTube. NWSL. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  41. "Week 16 Goal of the Week nominees #NWSL 2019". YouTube. NWSL. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  42. "Vote: Save of the Week". National Women's Soccer League. May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  43. "Week 7 Save of the Week Nominees". National Women's Soccer League youtube. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  44. "Vote: Save of the Week". National Women's Soccer League. May 6, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  45. "Week 16 Save of the Week nominees #NWSL 2019". YouTube. NWSL. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
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