Matsukubo Brace Keeps Courage on Hot Streak

Sports stats



NWSL North Carolina Courage

Matsukubo Brace Keeps Courage on Hot Streak

by Fran Stuchbury
May 19, 2025 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
North Carolina Courage


North Carolina Courage vs. the Chicago Stars
North Carolina Courage vs. the Chicago Stars
(, Credit: Fran Stuchbury)

Thanks to a brace by midfielder Manaka Matsukubo, the North Carolina Courage defeated the Chicago Stars 2-0 in front of the sixth-largest regular season crowd in club history of 8,592 fans for Star Wars Night at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Saturday evening.

North Carolina improved its record to 3-3-3 for 12 points this season by going 3-0-1 their last four games, while the Chicago Stars are now 1-7-1 for 4 points.

"It was an interesting one; we created a few chances in the first half," said North Carolina Courage Head Coach Sean Nahas. "We didn't take them. I thought we played fairly well. We found some good spots. Second half I thought we looked really tired, looked fatigued, didn't have the extra burst. Manaka had two great finishes. Sometimes you have to make the most of chances that you get. I was a little bit worried the way our legs looked in the second half, obviously we're running thin on numbers here. So a lot of players are logging some minutes.

"For us to start the way we did in the beginning of the season, not winning in five games, and now to be above the playoff line is a big moment for the players. It's not easy in this league, but to get ten out of twelve points in the last couple of weeks... it's a pretty cool thing to see. We just have to keep growing."

The Courage opened the scoring in the 51st minute with Matsukubo's first goal of the NWSL season on an assist from Denise O'Sullivan.

Then in the second half Matsukubo buried her second goal in the 77th minute, this time with an assist from Shinomi Koyama, her first NWSL point.

"I thought her finishes tonight were brilliant," Nahas added. "The moments she needed to step up, she did. She's a world class player and that's what world class players do in the time of need."

"Seeing her so happy and jumping up and down, that really uplifted us," said North Carolina forward Tyler Lussi. "It kept the momentum going into the game. I think once the first goal went in, we locked it down. Then the second goal in, we knew we were going to win the game. I think it was a really good result today at home in front of our fans and crowd; it was awesome."

Following an off game last week, Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy made four key saves to secure her third clean sheet of the season.

"Definitely took us a bit to get some momentum going, but once we grinded through the first half we came out in the second half, put some goals away," said Murphy. "great finishes by Manaka. Overall great defensive game, locking it down and preventing opportunities for them."

"It's a response from her from last game; she was devastated after what happened," Nahas said. "I communicated with her. Assistant coach Nathan Thackery communicated with her. We told her you can control how you respond. Casey is capable of that stuff, and we know that last week was a one-off. She responded really well as I expected. Like I said millions of times, she wins us games. She keeps us in games. One thing I will say she will never lose us a game, we're going to lose as a team. She was good today."

North Carolina's next match is on the road Saturday at San Diego, the first of a three-game road trip. They next play at home Saturday, June 21st against the Houston Dash at 7:30 pm est.

Check out the North Carolina Courage Statistics




Images from this story

North Carolina Courage vs. the Chicago Stars
North Carolina Courage vs. the Chicago Stars
(Fran Stuchbury)		   



National Women's Soccer League Stories from May 19, 2025


The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central