Match Preview: NC Courage vs. Washington Spirit
NWSL North Carolina Courage

Match Preview: NC Courage vs. Washington Spirit

Published on October 10, 2025 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
North Carolina Courage News Release


CARY, N.C. - The North Carolina Courage host the Washington Spirit on Saturday, October 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. The match will be broadcast on ION.

The match will be the Courage's Around the World Night, presented by Alpaca Peruvian Charcoal Chicken, celebrating the Courage's international players with a gameday experience inspired by the players' home countries.

The Courage enter Saturday in ninth place in the NWSL standings, three points out of the final playoff spot, currently held by San Diego Wave FC. The Spirit have already clinched their spot in the postseason and enter Saturday's match in second place with 43 points.

The Courage fell, 3-1, against Racing Louisville in Week 23. Manaka Matsukubo scored the lone goal for the Courage, becoming the seventh youngest player in NWSL history to 10 regular season goals, with only Olivia Moultrie, Jaedyn Shaw, Trinity Rodman, Alyssa Thompson, Sam Kerr, and Diana Ordonez doing so at a younger age.

Natalie Jacobs also impressed in the match, putting in a solid performance at right back in her first start in a Courage jersey.

The Spirit picked up a dramatic, 2-1 win over the San Diego Wave in Week 23, with both teams scoring in stoppage time. Rosemonde Kouassi gave the Spirit an early lead before Delphine Cascarino equalized for the Wave in the 90' +5'. Kouassi picked up the match-winner just three minutes later to complete her brace.

Gift Monday leads the Spirit attack with eight goals and two assists, but midseason acquisition Sofia Cantore and USWNT forward Trinity Rodman, who missed multiple matches early in the season due to injury, give the Spirit plenty of attacking options.

Aubrey Kingsbury has played all but one match in net for the Spirit this season, boasting a 73.91 save percentage.

The Details

What they'll wear:

Courage - Field: Pink/Pink/Pink | GK: Black

Spirit - Field: Yellow/Yellow/Yellow | GK: Blue

2025 Records:

Courage - 7W-9L-7D (9th, 28 points)

Spirit - 12W-4L-7D (2nd, 43 points)

Courage vs. Spirit (Regular Season): 11W-6L-2D

Last time out:

Courage - 3-1 Loss, vs Racing Louisville

Spirit - 2-1 Win, vs San Diego Wave

Up next:

The Courage hit the road for the final time in the 2025 NWSL regular season, heading to San Jose, California, to face Bay FC on Friday, October 17, at 10 p.m. ET. The match will stream live on Prime Video.

Check out the North Carolina Courage Statistics

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National Women's Soccer League Stories from October 10, 2025


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