March 31, 2023 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – North Carolina Courage News Release
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The North Carolina Courage make their first road trip of the 2023 season as they venture to the West Coast to face the San Diego Wave on Saturday, April 1, at 10:00 p.m. ET (7:00 local) at Snapdragon Stadium.
The Courage pitched three straight clean sheets to close out the 2022 regular season and picked up the defensive effort to begin 2023. With four straight clean sheets, the Courage are one shy of the NWSL record for consecutive regular season shutouts. North Carolina had five straight clean sheets in 2021 and the Reign did so in 2016.
The Courage and Wave played twice in San Diego’s inaugural season in 2022 with just one goal scored over the 180 minutes. Alex Morgan scored the lone tally in an 0-1 final in Cary last May before a scoreless draw in the final match of the regular season. That draw opened the window for Chicago to jump the Courage into the sixth and final playoff position, so the Courage will be looking to avenge that disappointment with an early road result in 2023.
The Wave an Opening Day attendance record last weekend with over 30,000 in attendance, so the Courage know the road environment will be one of the toughest in the league. With five players making their club debut last week, and several more ready to do so, this young team is still learning each other. They will have to once again display the resiliency and tenacity that emanated on opening weekend if they are to get a road result.
Quoting the Courage
Head coach Sean Nahas reflecting on the season opener…
“I thought we were okay. Obviously there are going to be a lot of things that we see, both good and things to improve on. I thought our shape was okay. We had really, really good, defined moments in possession. I think we can be a little more consistent and in the last 20 minutes we dropped off, which is not something we’re used to doing, so that’s something we have to focus on. But there’s a lot of positives that we took and with such a new group to get three points was massive, but we’re not even scratching the surface yet.”
Nahas on the first road trip of the season…
“The good news is that we spent two weeks away, so this is not the first time this team has traveled. I think it’s seeing consistency and seeing growth week to week. There’s going to be ebbs and flows throughout the year with so many young players. Overall, it’s continuing to build on how we…