Clubname: | North Carolina Courage U23 |
Stadium: | WakeMed Soccer Park Cary, North Carolina, United States |
Mgrtitle: | Head coach |
Manager: | Willie Davis |
League: | USL W League |
Season: | 2024 |
Current: | 2024 USL W League season |
American: | true |
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North Carolina Courage U23, also known as North Carolina Courage USL W, is an amateur women's soccer team that plays in the USL W League. It is affiliated and shares ownership with the professional team North Carolina Courage, which competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
In January 2022, NWSL club North Carolina Courage added an amateur team to compete in the newly formed W League,[1] becoming the second NWSL club to do so after Racing Louisville FC earlier that month.[2]
In the 2023 USL W League season, the Courage U23s went undefeated with an record to win the South Atlantic division, then defeated FC Miami City and Tampa Bay United in consecutive 3–0 victories to win the Southern Conference championship and advance to the national championship semifinals.[3] After defeating Eagle FC 4–1, the Courage U23s advanced to the national finals for the first time in club history, facing Indy Eleven, where they lost 2–1 in overtime.[4] [5] Former USWNT player Heather O'Reilly joined the team as a player and coach that season.[6] [7]
The Courage U23s returned to the national final with a 14–0–1 in the 2024 season.[8] They defeated the Colorado Storm in a 3–2 comeback victory at WRAL Soccer Park in Raleigh.[9]
North Carolina Courage plays its W League matches at Field Two at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.[10]
Name | Team | |
---|---|---|
MK Daly | Dartmouth | |
GK | Emily Edwards | Purdue |
Aven Alvarez | North Carolina | |
DF | Bella Ayscue | Penn State |
DF | (Washington Spirit) | |
DF | Taylor Chism | NC State |
DF | Kayleigh Herr | Penn State |
DF | Brooklyn Holt | NC State |
Gabby Ciocca | Virginia Tech | |
MF | Braelynn Francher | UNC Charlotte |
MF | Baylor Goldthwaite | Wake Forest |
MF | Phoebe Goldthwaite | Duke |
MF | Lauren Martinho | Duke |
MF | Cazzi Norgren | Missouri State |
MF | Bella Sember | North Carolina |
Macey Bader | UNC Charlotte | |
FW | Ivy Gardner | Liberty |
FW | Mackenzie Geigle | Louisville |
FW | Hannah Jibril | NC State |
FW | Duke | |
FW | Lexi Strickland | NC State |
FW | Alyssa Tucker | Campbell |
Season | League | Division | Regular season | Playoffs | Top goalscorer | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
South Atlantic | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 14 | +10 | 22 | 2nd | Did not qualify | Emily Sapienza (5) | [11] | |||
South Atlantic | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 7 | +39 | 34 | 1st | bgcolor=silver | Finals | [12] | |||
South Atlantic | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 6 | +50 | 34 | 1st | bgcolor=gold | Champions | [13] |