2021 North Carolina Courage season

North Carolina Courage's fifth season

North Carolina Courage 2021 soccer season

North Carolina Courage

2021 season

Managing owner

Steve Malik

Chairman

Steve Malik

Head Coach

Paul Riley (until September 30)
Sean Nahas (interim; from September 30)

Stadium

Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park

NWSL

6th of 10

NWSL Challenge Cup

2nd of 5, East Division

Top goalscorer

League: Lynn Williams (7)
All: Lynn Williams (11)

Highest home attendance

7,064
(October 17 vs NJ/NY)

Lowest home attendance

2,300
(April 10 vs Washington)

Average home league attendance

4,986

Biggest win

5–0
(May 28 vs Louisville)

Biggest defeat

1–4
(October 10 vs Houston)

Home colors

Away colors

← 2020 2022 →

The 2021 North Carolina Courage season was the team's fifth 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.

Background

North Carolina had finished the previous two regular seasons as champions of the National Women's Soccer League, along with winning the NWSL Shield by maintaining the league-best record in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The 2020 regular season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the team was eliminated in the quarter-final round of the 2020 Challenge Cup.

During the off-season, tennis star Naomi Osaka joined the team's ownership and the team unveiled new home and away kits.

Competitive matches

Challenge Cup

Main article: 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup

Group stage

North Carolina Courage v Washington Spirit

April 10	North Carolina Courage	3–2	Washington Spirit	Cary, North Carolina
15:30 EDT	Hamilton 10' McDonald 28' Mathias 51' 90+7'	Report	Yokoyama 4' Rodman 60' Jacobs 63'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 2,300

NJ/NY Gotham FC v North Carolina Courage

April 20 2	NJ/NY Gotham FC	4–3	North Carolina Courage	Montclair, New Jersey
18:00 EDT	Purce 18', 26' Lloyd 32' Cudjoe 86' Viens 90+2'	Report	Debinha 22', 24' McDonald 50'	Stadium: MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field

Racing Louisville FC v North Carolina Courage

April 26 3	Racing Louisville FC	2–3	North Carolina Courage	Louisville, Kentucky
18:00 EDT	Kizer 24' Baucom 75'	Report	Pickett 12' Hamilton 33' Kurtz 49' Debinha 57' Ashley 84' (o.g.)	Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium Attendance: 3,742

North Carolina Courage v Orlando Pride

May 1 4	North Carolina Courage	0–0	Orlando Pride	Cary, North Carolina
19:30 EDT	DeBree 2'	Report		Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 2,426

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	NJ/NY Gotham FC	4	2	2	0	5	3	+2	8	Qualification for the Championship
2	North Carolina Courage	4	2	1	1	9	8	+1	7
3	Orlando Pride	4	1	2	1	3	3	0	5
4	Washington Spirit	4	1	1	2	3	4	−1	4
5	Racing Louisville FC	4	0	2	2	4	6	−2	2

Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Regular season

Main article: 2021 National Women's Soccer League season

Matches

OL Reign v North Carolina Courage

May 15 1	OL Reign	0–0	North Carolina Courage	Tacoma, Washington
19:00 PDT	Balcer 83'	Report	Erceg 19' Mathias 26'	Stadium: Cheney Stadium Attendance: 2,104

North Carolina Courage v Orlando Pride

May 22 2	North Carolina Courage	1–2	Orlando Pride	Cary, North Carolina
19:00 EDT	Hamilton 39' McDonald 89' Pickett 90+7'	Report	Leroux 36' Morgan 79' Viggiano 83' Petersen 89'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park

North Carolina Courage v Racing Louisville FC

May 28 3	North Carolina Courage	5–0	Racing Louisville FC	Cary, North Carolina
19:00 EDT	Erceg 7' Mathias 56' Williams 63' Debinha 68' Mace 75', 90'	Report		Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park

Chicago Red Stars v North Carolina Courage

June 5 4	Chicago Red Stars	1–0	North Carolina Courage	Bridgeview, Illinois
13:00 CDT	Hill 29' Woldmoe 88'	Report		Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium

North Carolina Courage v OL Reign

June 19 5	North Carolina Courage	2–1	OL Reign	Cary, North Carolina
16:00 EDT	McDonald 45' Mewis 77' 88'	Report	Angelina 17' Celia 73' Fishlock 86'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 5,026

Racing Louisville FC v North Carolina Courage

June 23 6	Racing Louisville FC	0–2	North Carolina Courage	Louisville, Kentucky
19:30 EDT	Nagasato 65'	Report	Williams 27', 33'	Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium Attendance: 6,334

North Carolina Courage v Portland Thorns FC

June 26 7	North Carolina Courage	2–0	Portland Thorns FC	Cary, North Carolina
19:00 EDT	Williams 57', 66'	Report	Ryan 78'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park

Orlando Pride v North Carolina Courage

July 4 8	Orlando Pride	0–2	North Carolina Courage	Orlando, Florida
18:00 EDT		Report	Debinha 3' Pickett 29' Solaun 66' Williams 90+1'	Stadium: Exploria Stadium Attendance: 3,926

Washington Spirit v North Carolina Courage

July 10 9	Washington Spirit	2–0	North Carolina Courage	Washington, D.C.
19:00 EDT	Hatch 12', 45+1' Sanchez 29' Huster 77'	Report	Mathias 78' DeBree 84' O'Sullivan 88'	Stadium: Audi Field Attendance: 4,929

North Carolina Courage v Houston Dash

July 17 10	North Carolina Courage	1–2	Houston Dash	Cary, North Carolina
19:00 EDT	Hamilton 16' Mathias 57' O'Sullivan 61'	Report	Groom 9' 29' Seiler 62' 69' Visalli 90+5'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 5,229

Kansas City Current v North Carolina Courage

July 23 11	Kansas City Current	0–0	North Carolina Courage	Kansas City, Kansas
19:00 CDT		Report	Rodriguez 55' Speck 75'	Stadium: Legends Field

North Carolina Courage v Orlando Pride

July 31 12	North Carolina Courage	1–1	Orlando Pride	Cary, North Carolina
19:00 EDT	Roccaro 39' Ratcliffe 52'	Report	Krieger 16' Strom 45' Leroux 50'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 5,523

NJ/NY Gotham FC v North Carolina Courage

August 7 13	NJ/NY Gotham FC	0–1	North Carolina Courage	Harrison, New Jersey
19:00 EDT	Zerboni 58'	Report	Speck 38'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 2,179

North Carolina Courage v Chicago Red Stars

August 15 14	North Carolina Courage	1–0	Chicago Red Stars	Cary, North Carolina
18:45 EDT	Rodriguez 39' (pen.)	Report	Watt 87'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 5,002

North Carolina Courage v Kansas City Current

August 21 15	North Carolina Courage	4–0	Kansas City Current	Cary, North Carolina
19:00 EDT	Williams 12' McDonald 21' Solaun 40' 75' Rodriguez 64' Speck 90'	Report	McCain 44' Pickett 47'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park

Washington Spirit v North Carolina Courage

August 29 16	Washington Spirit	0–0	North Carolina Courage	Washington, D.C.
17:00 EDT	Roddar 90+3'	Report	Williams 55'	Stadium: Audi Field Attendance: 4,554

Kansas City Current v North Carolina Courage

September 5 17	Kansas City Current	0–0	North Carolina Courage	Kansas City, Kansas
18:00 CDT	Mace 20'	Report	Roccaro 26'	Stadium: Legends Field Attendance: 4,583

North Carolina Courage v Portland Thorns FC

September 12 18	North Carolina Courage	0–1	Portland Thorns FC	Cary, North Carolina
15:00 EDT	Mathias 25' Roccaro 30'	Report	Smith 57' Moultrie 88'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 5,161

NJ/NY Gotham FC v North Carolina Courage

September 25 19	NJ/NY Gotham FC	3–1	North Carolina Courage	Harrison, New Jersey
15:00 EDT	Onumonu 15' Lloyd 18' 28' (pen.) Purce 36' Dorsey 46' Monaghan 77' 82' Sheridan 85'	Report	James 20' 63' Caldwell 40'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 2,887

North Carolina Courage v Racing Louisville FC

October 6 20	North Carolina Courage	3–1	Racing Louisville FC	Cary, North Carolina
19:30 EDT	Williams 14' Rodriguez 19' Debinha 30'	Report	McCaskill 24'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 3,523

Houston Dash v North Carolina Courage

October 10 21	Houston Dash	4–1	North Carolina Courage	Houston, Texas
18:00 CDT	Visalli 6' Montefusco 19' Daly 24', 57' Groom 26'	Report	McDonald 4' Erceg 66'	Stadium: PNC Stadium Attendance: 4,155

North Carolina Courage v Washington Spirit

October 13 22	North Carolina Courage	1–2	Washington Spirit	Cary, North Carolina
19:30 EDT	Kurtz 31' Speck 60'	Report	Rodman 39' Roddar 70'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 3,742

North Carolina Courage v NJ/NY Gotham FC

October 17 23	North Carolina Courage	0–3	NJ/NY Gotham FC	Cary, North Carolina
14:00 EDT	Mathias 45+2'	Report	Purce 54', 64' Lloyd 67' Thiney 83'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 7,064

Portland Thorns FC v North Carolina Courage

October 30 24	Portland Thorns FC	0–0	North Carolina Courage	Portland, Oregon
19:00 PDT		Report		Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 17,584

Color key: Green = North Carolina win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Portland Thorns FC	24	13	5	6	33	17	+16	44	NWSL Shield
2	OL Reign	24	13	3	8	37	24	+13	42	Playoffs – Semi-finals
3	Washington Spirit (C)	24	11	6	7	29	26	+3	39	Playoffs – First round
4	Chicago Red Stars	24	11	5	8	28	28	0	38
5	NJ/NY Gotham FC	24	8	11	5	29	21	+8	35
6	North Carolina Courage	24	9	6	9	28	23	+5	33
7	Houston Dash	24	9	5	10	31	31	0	32
8	Orlando Pride	24	7	7	10	27	32	−5	28
9	Racing Louisville FC	24	5	7	12	21	40	−19	22
10	Kansas City	24	3	7	14	15	36	−21	16

Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champions

Playoffs

Washington Spirit v North Carolina Courage

November 7 First round	Washington Spirit	1–0 (a.e.t.)	North Carolina Courage	Washington, D.C.
17:30 EST	Hatch 113'	Report		Stadium: Audi Field Attendance: 5,379 Referee: Natalie Simon

References

Negley, Cassandra (April 8, 2021). "NWSL 2021 season preview: Who to watch, new kits, key questions and more". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
Linehan, Meg; Kamrani, Christopher (January 28, 2021). "Naomi Osaka buys stake in NWSL's North Carolina Courage". The Athletic. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
"Mountains to Sea: The NC Courage 2021 Kit Embraces the Home State". NC Courage. Retrieved May 2, 2022.

North Carolina Courage

Formerly the Western New York Flash
Established 2017
Based in Cary, North Carolina

The Club

Stadiums

WakeMed Soccer Park

Key personnel

Majority owner: Stephen Malik
Head coach: Sean Nahas

Affiliated clubs

Seasons (12)
as WNY Flash	2013 2014 2015 2016
as NC Courage	2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e National Women's Soccer League
Records and statistics Players Association U.S. Soccer
Current teams	Angel City FC Bay FC Chicago Red Stars Houston Dash Kansas City Current NJ/NY Gotham FC North Carolina Courage Orlando Pride Portland Thorns FC Racing Louisville FC San Diego Wave FC Seattle Reign FC Utah Royals Washington Spirit
Future team	BOS Nation FC (2026)
Former teams	Western New York Flash (2013–16) Boston Breakers (2013–17) FC Kansas City (2013–17)
Seasons	2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Competition	NWSL Shield NWSL Championship Playoffs Challenge Cup Summer Cup Stadiums Attendance Expansion Broadcasters
Personnel	Players Association Draftees Drafts Foreign players Owners Under-18 Entry Mechanism Federation players (2013–21) Jessica Berman
Awards	Most Valuable Player Golden Boot Midfielder of the Year Defender of the Year Goalkeeper of the Year Rookie of the Year Coach of the Year Best XI and Second XI Player of the Month Rookie of the Month Team of the Month Player of the Week Players' awards
Related articles	Sexual harassment Yates Report
Category Portal Multimedia

v t e 2021 NWSL season by team
Expansion Draft NWSL Draft Playoffs Challenge Cup Records and statistics Teams of the Year Player of the Month Team of the Month Player of the Week
Chicago Red Stars Houston Dash Kansas City NJ/NY Gotham FC North Carolina Courage OL Reign Orlando Pride Portland Thorns FC Racing Louisville FC Washington Spirit

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