# 2018 North Carolina Courage season

The 2018 North Carolina Courage season was the team's second season as a professional women's soccer team. North Carolina Courage played in the National Women's Soccer League, the top tier of women's soccer in the United States. On August 5, the Courage clinched the 2018 NWSL Shield for the second consecutive season after a 2–1 win over Portland. The Courage finished the 2018 regular season with only 1 loss and broke the record for most wins in a season (17), most points (57) and most goals (53).
On September 22, North Carolina defeated the Portland Thorns 3-0 to win the 2018 NWSL Championship and completed one of the most successful seasons for a professional women's soccer team in the United States.

## Team
### Coaching staff

    As of May 31, 2018
    Source: North Carolina Courage
| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | Paul Riley |
| Assistant coach | Scott Vallow |
| Assistant coach | Bill Paladino |
| Assistant coach | Sean Nahas |
| Assistant coach | Nathan Thackeray |

### First-team roster

    As of December 17, 2018
    Source: North Carolina Courage
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 0 | GK | USA | Katelyn Rowland |
| 1 | GK | CAN | Sabrina D'Angelo |
| 4 | MF | USA | Elizabeth Eddy |
| 5 | MF | USA | Sam Mewis |
| 6 | DF | NZL | Abby Erceg |
| 7 | MF | USA | McCall Zerboni |
| 8 | MF | IRL | Denise O'Sullivan |
| 9 | FW | USA | Lynn Williams |
| 10 | MF | BRA | Debinha |
| 11 | DF | USA | Merritt Mathias |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 13 | DF | USA | Abby Dahlkemper |
| 14 | FW | USA | Jessica McDonald |
| 15 | DF | USA | Jaelene Hinkle |
| 16 | DF | USA | Cari Roccaro |
| 17 | MF | USA | Heather O'Reilly |
| 19 | FW | USA | Crystal Dunn |
| 22 | DF | USA | Julie King |
| 23 | FW | USA | Kristen Hamilton |
| 25 | DF | USA | Meredith Speck |
| 31 | DF | USA | Kaleigh Kurtz |

## Player transactions
### 2018 NWSL College Draft

    Source: National Women's Soccer League
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | Previous Team |
| Round 1 | 10 | Frannie Crouse | FW | Penn State |
| Round 2 | 20 | Rebecca Rasmusen | MF | University of Colorado |
| Round 4 | 38 | Morgan Reid | DF | Duke University |
| Round 4 | 39 | Carlin Hudson | DF | Yale University |
| Round 4 | 40 | Ryan Williams | DF | TCU |

### In

| Date | Player | Positions played | Previous club | Fee/notes |
| January 16, 2018 | Crystal Dunn | FW | Chelsea F.C. | Rights were acquired in trade with the Washington Spirit. |
| January 30, 2018 | Julie King | DF | Boston Breakers | Acquired during Boston Breakers Dispersal Draft |
| January 30, 2018 | Allysha Chapman | DF | Boston Breakers | Acquired during Boston Breakers Dispersal Draft |
| January 31, 2018 | Merritt Mathias | DF | Seattle Reign | Acquired in a trade with the Seattle Reign in exchange for North Carolina's first round pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft. The Courage also received Seattle's second round pick in 2019. |
| June 28, 2018 | Heather O'Reilly | MF | Arsenal | Signed after rights were acquired in trade with Utah Royals FC |

### Out

| Date | Player | Positions played | Destination club | Fee/notes |
| October 23, 2017 | Stephanie Ochs | FW | | Placed on the Re-Entry Wire after the 2017 Season, wasn't claimed by another team. |
| January 16, 2018 | Taylor Smith | DF | Washington Spirit | Traded to the Washington Spirit in exchange for the rights to Crystal Dunn. |
| January 16, 2018 | Ashley Hatch | FW | Washington Spirit | Traded to the Washington Spirit in exchange for the rights to Crystal Dunn. |
| May 9, 2018 | Allysha Chapman | DF | Houston Dash | Traded to the Houston Dash in exchange for the Houston's first round draft pink in the 2019 NWSL College Draft |
| June 28, 2018 | Makenzy Doniak | FW | Utah Royals FC | Traded to Utah Royals FC in exchange for the rights to Heather O'Reilly. |

## Competitions
### National Women's Soccer League
#### Preseason

    Source: North Carolina Courage

#### Regular season

    Source: North Carolina Courage

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | North Carolina Courage (C) | 24 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 53 | 17 | +36 | 57 | NWSL Shield |
| 2 | Portland Thorns FC | 24 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 40 | 28 | +12 | 42 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 3 | Seattle Reign FC | 24 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 41 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 4 | Chicago Red Stars | 24 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 38 | 28 | +10 | 37 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 5 | Utah Royals FC | 24 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 23 | −1 | 35 | |
| 6 | Houston Dash | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 35 | 39 | −4 | 32 | |
| 7 | Orlando Pride | 24 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 30 | |
| 8 | Washington Spirit | 24 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 12 | 35 | −23 | 11 | |
| 9 | Sky Blue FC | 24 | 1 | 6 | 17 | 21 | 52 | −31 | 9 | |

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Stadium | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | W | W | W | D | W | D | W | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | D | W | D | W |
| Position | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

### International friendlies

As defending 2017 Shield winners and playoff finalists, the Courage were selected to participate in the inaugural Women's International Champions Cup. They defeated French side Paris Saint-Germain Women in the semi-final round and French side and defending UEFA Women's Champions League titleholders Lyon Women in the final at Miami Garden's Hard Rock Stadium to become the first ever champions of the event.

## Statistics
### Appearances

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | NWSL Regular Season | NWSL Regular Season | NWSL Regular Season | NWSL Regular Season | NWSL Regular Season | NWSL Playoffs | NWSL Playoffs | NWSL Playoffs | NWSL Playoffs | NWSL Playoffs | Women's ICC | Women's ICC | Women's ICC | Women's ICC | Women's ICC |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | GK | | Katelyn Rowland | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | GK | | Sabrina D'Angelo | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | DF | | Abby Erceg | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | DF | | Merritt Mathias | 22 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | | Abby Dahlkemper | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | | Jaelene Hinkle | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | | Cari Roccaro | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | | Yuri Kawamura | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | | Julie King | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | | Meredith Speck | 2+12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | | Morgan Reid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | | Ryan Williams | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | | Kaleigh Kurtz | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | | Elizabeth Eddy | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | | Sam Mewis | 11+6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | | McCall Zerboni | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Denise O'Sullivan | 20+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | | Debinha | 20+1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | | Heather O'Reilly | 2+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | | Sarah Teegarden | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | | Lynn Williams | 20+1 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | | Frannie Crouse | 0+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | | Jessica McDonald | 20+2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | | Darian Jenkins | 0+12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | | Crystal Dunn | 21+1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | | Kristen Hamilton | 8+15 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 52 | 16 | 0 | 0 | | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Last updated: September 22, 2018. Source: Competitive matches

### Goalscorers

| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Name | NWSL Regular Season | NWSL Playoffs | Women's ICC | Total |
| 1 | 9 | FW | | Lynn Williams | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | 14 | FW | | Jessica McDonald | 7 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| 3 | 10 | FW | | Debinha | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | 19 | FW | | Crystal Dunn | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | 5 | MF | | Samantha Mewis | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | 7 | MF | | McCall Zerboni | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 11 | DF | | Merritt Mathias | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 23 | FW | | Kristen Hamilton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | 6 | DF | | Abby Erceg | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | 12 | FW | | Frannie Crouse | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 17 | MF | | Heather O'Reilly | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | 21 | FW | | Darian Jenkins | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 52 | 2 | 3 | 58 |
Last updated: September 22, 2018. Source: Competitive matches

## Honors and awards
### NWSL Season Awards

* Most Valuable Player: Lynn Williams (finalist), McCall Zerboni (finalist)
* Defender of the Year: Abby Dahlkemper (finalist), Abby Erceg (finalist)
* Coach of the Year: Paul Riley (finalist)
* Best XI: Abby Dahlkemper, Abby Erceg, McCall Zerboni, Crystal Dunn
* Second XI: Merritt Mathias, Debinha, Lynn Williams

### NWSL Championship Game Awards

* Most Valuable Player: Jessica McDonald

### NWSL Team of the Month

| Month | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| March | Jaelene Hinkle | Debinha | Crystal Dunn |
| April | Jaelene Hinkle | Crystal Dunn McCall Zerboni | Jessica McDonald |
| May | Abby Erceg | McCall Zerboni | Crystal Dunn |
| June | Abby Erceg Merritt Mathias | McCall Zerboni | Crystal Dunn |
| July | Abby Erceg | McCall Zerboni | |
| August | Abby Erceg | | Lynn Williams |

### NWSL Player of the Month

| Month | Result | Player | Ref. |
| June | Won | Crystal Dunn | |

### NWSL Player of the Week

| Week | Result | Player |
| 3 | Won | McCall Zerboni |
| 5 | Won | McCall Zerboni |
| 8 | Won | Crystal Dunn |
| 13 | Won | Crystal Dunn |
| 16 | Won | Lynn Williams |
| 19 | Won | Lynn Williams |

### NWSL Goal of the Week

| Week | Result | Player |
| 1 | Nominated | Debinha |
| 2 | Nominated | Jessica McDonald |
| 3 | Nominated | McCall Zerboni |
| 4 | Won | Merritt Mathias |
| 5 | Nominated | Kristen Hamilton |
| 8 | Nominated | Crystal Dunn |
| 9 | Nominated | Jessica McDonald |
| 10 | Nominated | Frannie Crouse |
| 13 | Nominated | Merritt Mathias |
| 14 | Nominated | Jessica McDonald |
| 15 | Nominated | Lynn Williams |
| 19 | Nominated | Lynn Williams |
| 24 | Nominated | Jessica McDonald |

### NWSL Save of the Week

| Week | Result | Player |
| 5 | Nominated | Sabrina D'Angelo |
| 6 | Nominated | Sabrina D'Angelo |
| 7 | Nominated | Katelyn Rowland |
| 8 | Nominated | Katelyn Rowland |
| 14 | Nominated | Katelyn Rowland |
| 15 | Nominated | Denise O'Sullivan |
| 16 | Nominated | Katelyn Rowland |