North Carolina Courage
2021 season
Managing ownerSteve Malik
ChairmanSteve Malik
Head CoachPaul Riley (until September 30)
Sean Nahas (interim; from September 30)
StadiumSahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
NWSL6th of 10
NWSL Challenge Cup2nd of 5, East Division
Top goalscorerLeague: Lynn Williams (7)
All: Lynn Williams (11)
Highest home attendance7,064
(October 17 vs NJ/NY)
Lowest home attendance2,300
(April 10 vs Washington)
Average home league attendance4,986
Biggest win5–0
(May 28 vs Louisville)
Biggest defeat1–4
(October 10 vs Houston)

The 2021 North Carolina Courage season was the team's fifth season as a professional women's soccer team. North Carolina Courage plays in the National Women's Soccer League, the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.

Background

North Carolina had finished the previous two regular seasons as champions of the National Women's Soccer League, along with winning the NWSL Shield by maintaining the league-best record in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The 2020 regular season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the team was eliminated in the quarter-final round of the 2020 Challenge Cup.[1]

During the off-season, tennis star Naomi Osaka joined the team's ownership and the team unveiled new home and away kits.[2][3]

Competitive matches

Challenge Cup

Group stage

April 10 North Carolina Courage 3–2 Washington Spirit Cary, North Carolina
15:30 EDT
Report
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 2,300

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 NJ/NY Gotham FC 4 2 2 0 5 3 +2 8 Qualification for the Championship
2 North Carolina Courage 4 2 1 1 9 8 +1 7
3 Orlando Pride 4 1 2 1 3 3 0 5
4 Washington Spirit 4 1 1 2 3 4 −1 4
5 Racing Louisville FC 4 0 2 2 4 6 −2 2
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Regular season

Matches

July 10 9 Washington Spirit 2–0 North Carolina Courage Washington, D.C.
19:00 EDT
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 4,929
July 17 10 North Carolina Courage 1–2 Houston Dash Cary, North Carolina
19:00 EDT
Report
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 5,229
September 25 19 NJ/NY Gotham FC 3–1 North Carolina Courage Harrison, New Jersey
15:00 EDT
Report
Stadium: Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 2,887
October 10 21 Houston Dash 4–1 North Carolina Courage Houston, Texas
18:00 CDT
Report
Stadium: PNC Stadium
Attendance: 4,155

Color key: Green = North Carolina win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Portland Thorns FC 24 13 5 6 33 17 +16 44 NWSL Shield
2 OL Reign 24 13 3 8 37 24 +13 42 Playoffs – Semi-finals
3 Washington Spirit (C) 24 11 6 7 29 26 +3 39 Playoffs – First round
4 Chicago Red Stars 24 11 5 8 28 28 0 38
5 NJ/NY Gotham FC 24 8 11 5 29 21 +8 35
6 North Carolina Courage 24 9 6 9 28 23 +5 33
7 Houston Dash 24 9 5 10 31 31 0 32
8 Orlando Pride 24 7 7 10 27 32 −5 28
9 Racing Louisville FC 24 5 7 12 21 40 −19 22
10 Kansas City 24 3 7 14 15 36 −21 16
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champions

Playoffs

November 7 First round Washington Spirit 1–0 (a.e.t.) North Carolina Courage Washington, D.C.
17:30 EST Hatch 113' Report Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 5,379
Referee: Natalie Simon

See also

References

  1. ↑ Negley, Cassandra (April 8, 2021). "NWSL 2021 season preview: Who to watch, new kits, key questions and more". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  2. ↑ Linehan, Meg; Kamrani, Christopher (January 28, 2021). "Naomi Osaka buys stake in NWSL's North Carolina Courage". The Athletic. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Mountains to Sea: The NC Courage 2021 Kit Embraces the Home State". NC Courage. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
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