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NWSL North Carolina Courage

Preview of Courage vs. Chicago Red Stars

June 23, 2024 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
North Carolina Courage News Release


The North Carolina Courage hosts the Chicago Red Stars for Pride Night at WakeMed Soccer Park this Sunday, June 23, at 6 p.m. ET. The match will stream nationally on NWSL+ and air locally on COZI-TV with club legend Jessica McDonald set to make her Courage analyst debut alongside Dean Linke.

The Courage looks to build off an impressive showing last weekend where the shorthanded side battled league-leading Orlando to a scoreless draw. The team sits in seventh place in the standings, entering the weekend with a 5-1-7 record for 16 points from 13 fixtures.

Sunday will celebrate Pride, supported by Cary Estate Planning, with special performances, giveaways, vendors, merchandise, guests, and more. Drag performers will be in FanFest near the northeast entrance from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m. ET.

Sunday will also kick off the auction for the Conversation over Cleats initiative. The cleats will be displayed in FanFest on Sunday to open the auction, which ends on June 26 at 11:59 p.m. A link to the auction will be posted on the Courage social media channels.

North Carolina is tied for the league lead with five clean sheets but has also struggled to score as of late. While scoring just once in the last seven fixtures, there were promising signs and big opportunities last weekend. Chicago has only played in two matches this season without multiple goals, a pair of 1-0 defeats, there should be plenty of chances on both ends on Sunday.

The Courage defense gets no letdown after stalling Barbra Banda last week, now welcoming the lethal Mallory Swanson to spearhead the Chicago attack. North Carolina will at least get the defense back to full strength as Ryan Williams returns from her red card suspension last week.

Chicago is one slot ahead of the Courage in the standings in sixth with a 5-2-6 record for 17 points from 13 fixtures. While winless in four straight, the Red Stars are coming off an impressive 2-2 draw against undefeated Kansas City to snap a three-match losing streak. Chicago is amid a five-of-six away stretch but has lost just once in six road matches (three wins, two draws) this season.

The Courage are 8W-6L-5D all-time vs. Chicago (4-6-5 regular season) and unbeaten in five straight regular-season meetings (three wins, two draws). The last regular season loss came June 5, 2021, but Chicago is under new ownership and a new head coach. It seems one the league's most storied franchises has returned to form in 2024 and the Courage will get a first crack at the reloaded Red Stars Sunday night.

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