June 29, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
North Carolina Courage News Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The North Carolina Courage travels to the Nation’s Capital for the season’s first meeting with the Washington Spirit this Saturday, June 29, with a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Audi Field. The match will air on ION with JP Dellacamera and Jill Loyden on the call.
The Courage are 6-1-7 for 19 points from 14 fixtures to rank sixth in the NWSL table entering the weekend. Washington has more wins than any other team, sitting at 10-1-3 for 31 points to rank third.
Seeking the first road points of the season, North Carolina returns to the site of their last road win, the 1-0 victory on decision day in 2023 that clinched the Courage the third seed in the playoffs. Now, in their final road tilt before the lengthy international break, the Courage look to build off the last two impressive performances to earn a result and get the proverbial monkey off their backs.
The Courage offense found its stride last week, striking three goals to earn the team’s first win since May 17 (2L, 1D). The win also saw the first multi-goal performance for North Carolina since April 13, a stretch of nine fixtures. After conceding first, the Courage responded with three straight goals for their first points from a losing position of the season- fight and resilience that impressed and inspired the technical staff.
All three goals were special in their own way. Riley Jackson, the 18-year-old making her first professional start, made a great step to start the buildup to Tyler Lussi’s equalizing goal. Ashley Sanchez gave the team the lead, pinging a long-range strike from two steps outside the box into the side netting, freezing the entire defense with her perfect placement. The cherry on top came in the final minutes, with Bianca St-Georges – playing against her former team – delivering a perfect cross for Meredith Speck to finish. Speck, who tore her ACL on June 24, 2023, scored almost exactly a year later for a full-circle moment.
The Courage distinct style has them in the thick of the playoff race just past the midway point of the season. The Courage extended their streak to 44 consecutive regular season games with more than 50% of possession on Sunday against the Red Stars, dating back to August 25, 2022, at Portland.
Washington is the first team in the league with double-digit wins this season. Croix Bethune, the third overall pick in the NWSL Draft, has been elite in her…