# 2023 North Carolina Courage season

The 2023 North Carolina Courage season was the team's seventh season as a professional women's soccer team. The Courage played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.

## Broadcasting

On June 5, 2023, the Courage announced that Bally Sports South would regionally broadcast eight of the team's games.

## Team
### Current squad

    As of July 17, 2023.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
| 0 | GK | Katelyn Rowland | United States |
| 1 | GK | Casey Murphy | United States |
| 2 | DF | Sarah Clark | United States |
| 3 | DF | Kaleigh Kurtz | United States |
| 4 | MF | Emily Gray | United States |
| 5 | FW | Haley Hopkins | United States |
| 6 | MF | Narumi Miura | Japan |
| 7 | DF | Malia Berkely | United States |
| 8 | MF | Brianna Pinto | United States |
| 9 | FW | Kerolin | Brazil |
| 10 | MF | Denise O'Sullivan | Republic of Ireland |
| 11 | FW | Brittany Ratcliffe | United States |
| 12 | DF | Emily Fox | United States |
| 13 | DF | Ryan Williams | United States |
| 14 | FW | Tyler Lussi | United States |
| 17 | FW | Rikke Madsen | Denmark |
| 18 | DF | Sydney Collins | Canada |
| 19 | MF | Frankie Tagliaferri | United States |
| 20 | FW | Olivia Wingate | United States |
| 21 | DF | Nikia Smith | United States |
| 22 | FW | Mille Gejl | Denmark |
| 23 | DF | Kiki Pickett | United States |
| 24 | DF | Estelle Johnson | Cameroon |
| 25 | MF | Meredith Speck | United States |
| 26 | MF | Clara Robbins | United States |
| 28 | FW | Tess Boade | United States |
| 29 | FW | Millie Farrow | England |
| 44 | GK | Marisa Bova | United States |
| 55 | GK | Hensley Hancuff | United States |
| 99 | MF | Victoria Pickett | Canada |
| — | MF | Rikako Kobayashi | Japan |

### Staff

    As of April 29, 2023.
Executive :
| Chairman | Steve Malik |
| President | Francie Gottsegen |
| Chief soccer officer | Curt Johnson |
| Assistant general manager | Bobby Hammond |
| Coaching ||
| Head coach | Sean Nahas |
| Assistant coach | Nathan Thackeray |
| Assistant coach | Emma Thomson |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | San Diego Wave FC (S) | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 31 | 22 | +9 | 37 | Playoff semifinals and W Champions Cup |
| 2 | Portland Thorns FC | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 42 | 32 | +10 | 35 | Playoff semifinals and W Champions Cup |
| 3 | North Carolina Courage | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 22 | +7 | 33 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 4 | OL Reign | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 24 | +5 | 32 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 5 | Angel City FC | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 31 | 30 | +1 | 31 | Playoff quarterfinals |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: October 15, 2023. Source: NWSLsoccer.com

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Stadium | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A |
| Result | W | L | L | L | W | D | W | D | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | L | D | D | L | D | D | W |
| Position | 4 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |

### Playoffs
## Challenge Cup
### Group stage
#### Divisional standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | NC | NJY | WAS | ORL |
| 1 | North Carolina Courage | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 11 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 1–1 | 6–0 | 0–0 |
| 2 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 11 | | 2–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| 3 | Washington Spirit | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −3 | 9 | | 1–2 | 4–2 | — | 4–2 |
| 4 | Orlando Pride | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 15 | −10 | 2 | | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | — |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: October 26, 2023. Source: NWSLsoccer.com

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Stadium | A | H | A | H | H | A |
| Result | D | D | W | W | W | L |
| Position | 2 | 3 | | | | 1 |

### Championship
## Transactions
### 2023 NWSL Draft

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. The 2023 NWSL Draft was held on January 12, 2023.
| R | P | Player | Pos. | College | Status |
| 1 | 6 | Olivia Wingate | FW | Notre Dame | Signed through 2025. |
| 1 | 8 | Sydney Collins | MF | California | Signed through 2025. |
| 1 | 9 | Clara Robbins | MF | Florida State | Signed through 2025. |
| 1 | 11 | Haley Hopkins | FW | Virginia | Signed through 2025. |

### Contract options

| Date | Player | Pos. | Notes |
| November 15, 2022 | Marisa Bova | GK | Option exercised. |
| November 15, 2022 | Kaleigh Kurtz | DF | Option exercised. |
| November 15, 2022 | Tess Boade | MF | Option exercised. |
| November 15, 2022 | Emily Gray | MF | Option exercised. |
| November 15, 2022 | Fuka Nagano | MF | Option exercised. |
| November 15, 2022 | Frankie Tagliaferri | MF | Option exercised. |
| November 15, 2022 | Diana Ordóñez | FW | Option exercised. |
| November 15, 2022 | Jaelene Daniels | DF | Option declined. |

### Re-signings

| Date | Player | Pos. | Notes |
| November 28, 2022 | Kaleigh Kurtz | DF | Re-signed through 2025 on a guaranteed contract. |
| December 6, 2022 | Meredith Speck | MF | Free agent re-signed through 2024 on a guaranteed contract. |
| January 3, 2023 | Casey Murphy | GK | Re-signed through 2025 on a guaranteed contract. |
| January 5, 2023 | Brianna Pinto | MF | Re-signed through 2025 on a guaranteed contract. |
| January 19, 2023 | Ryan Williams | DF | Re-signed through 2025. |
| January 23, 2023 | Brittany Ratcliffe | FW | Free agent re-signed through 2023, with a mutual option to extend through 2024. |
| January 24, 2023 | Katelyn Rowland | GK | Free agent re-signed through 2025. |

### Loans in

| Date | Nat. | Player | Pos. | Previous club | Fee/notes | Ref. |
| July 27, 2023 | | Manaka Matsukubo | MF | MyNavi Sendai | Loaned until June 2024. Courage have option to transfer playing rights to the club on a permanent basis following the loan period. | |

### Loans out

| Date | Nat. | Player | Pos. | Destination club | Fee/notes | Ref. |
| November 15, 2022 | | Tess Boade | MF | Western Sydney Wanderers | Loaned until February 2023. Returned December 17, 2022, due to injury. | |
| August 15, 2023 | | Hensley Hancuff | GK | Växjö DFF | Loan runs through the 2023-24 Damallsvenskan season. | |

### Transfers in

| Date | Player | Pos. | Previous club | Fee/notes |
| December 1, 2022 | Estelle Johnson | DF | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Free-agent signed through 2024 on a guaranteed contract. |
| January 20, 2023 | Tyler Lussi | FW | Angel City FC | Acquired in exchange for Merritt Mathias. |
| January 20, 2023 | Mille Gejl | FW | BK Häcken FF | Signed through 2024. |
| January 23, 2023 | Emily Fox | DF | Racing Louisville FC | Acquired in exchange for Abby Erceg and Carson Pickett. |
| February 7, 2023 | Narumi Miura | MF | Tokyo Verdy Beleza | Acquired for an undisclosed transfer fee. Under contract through 2024. |
| April 7, 2022 | Victoria Pickett | MF | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Acquired in exchange for $200,000 in allocation money. |
| June 27, 2023 | Hensley Hancuff | GK | Brisbane Roar FC | Short-term national team replacement player signing. |
| June 27, 2023 | Sarah Clark | DF | Virginia Cavaliers | Short-term national team replacement player signing. |
| June 27, 2023 | Nikia Smith | DF | F.C. Ramat HaSharon | Short-term national team replacement player signing. |
| July 17, 2023 | Rikako Kobayashi | MF | Tokyo Verdy Beleza | Free transfer signed to a two-year contract with an option for an additional year. |

### Transfers out

| Date | Player | Pos. | Destination club | Fee/notes |
| November 15, 2022 | Rylee Baisden | FW | Perth Glory | Contract mutually terminated. |
| November 15, 2022 | Katie Bowen | DF | Melbourne City | Contract mutually terminated. |
| December 18, 2022 | Diana Ordóñez | FW | Houston Dash | Traded with the 30th-overall selection of the 2023 NWSL Draft in exchange for the eighth-overall selection in the 2023 NWSL Draft, Houston's natural first-round selection in the 2024 NWSL Draft, a 2023 international slot, and $100,000 in allocation money. |
| December 22, 2022 | Debinha | MF | Kansas City Current | Free-agent signing. |
| January 14, 2023 | Fuka Nagano | MF | Liverpool F.C. | Transfer terms not disclosed. |
| January 20, 2023 | Merritt Mathias | DF | Angel City FC | Traded in exchange for Tyler Lussi. |
| January 23, 2023 | Abby Erceg | DF | Racing Louisville FC | Traded in exchange for Emily Fox. |
| January 23, 2023 | Carson Pickett | DF | Racing Louisville FC | Traded in exchange for Emily Fox. |

### Injury listings

| Date | Nat. | Player | Pos. | List | Injury | Ref. |
| March 20, 2023 | | Tess Boade | MF | 45-day injured reserve | Shoulder injury suffered while on loan to Western Sydney Wanderers. | |
| March 20, 2023 | | Emily Gray | MF | Season-ending injury | Anterior cruciate ligament tear during preseason. | |

### Preseason trialists

Trialists are non-rostered invitees during preseason and are not automatically signed. The Courage released their preseason roster on February 3, 2023.
| Player | Pos. | Previous club | Notes |
| Elianna Beard | MF | F.C. Kiryat Gat | Not signed. |
| Sarah Clark | DF | Virginia Cavaliers | Signed as a national team replacement player. |
| Jennifer Cudjoe | MF | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Not signed. |
| Nikia Smith | DF | F.C. Ramat HaSharon | Signed as a national team replacement player. |
| Croix Soto | DF | Oregon Ducks | Not signed. |