Preview: #2 Seed on the Line, Spirit Concludes Regular Season Against North Carolina Courage
Cary, North Carolina (11/01/2024) – The Washington Spirit will face the North Carolina Courage on Saturday, November 2 in the final regular season match of the year. The match begins at 7:30 p.m. EDT at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina and will be broadcast nationally on ION, with match coverage beginning at 7 p.m. Fans can also tune into the Washington Spirit Radio Network by visiting WashingtonSpirit.com or the ESPN 630 website or app starting at 7:25 p.m.
The Spirit
In the team’s last match, the Spirit defeated the Chicago Red Stars, 2-0, in front of a home crowd of 17,065 – the fifth-largest crowd in club history.
Undrafted rookie Heather Stainbrook scored the first – and game-winning – goal, the first of her NWSL career. Now, all six rookies that started the season with the Spirit have scored, extending their club record for goals by rookies in a single season to 15.
The rookie contributions continued in the 83rd minute when Makenna Morris doubled the Spirit lead and cemented the victory. It marked Morris’ fifth goal of the season, tied for the most among NWSL rookies this season.
The Spirit has won consecutive games with each win coming by at least two goals. This season, Washington has ten regular season wins by multiple goals, tied with the Courage in 2018 and Reign FC in 2014 for the most such wins in a single season in NWSL history.
The victory was crucial for the Spirit’s goal of locking in the #2 overall seed. Washington, Gotham FC and Kansas City are all vying for the second seed, and all three teams secured wins last time out.
Currently, the Spirit sits in the second seed with 53 points, holding a four-goal lead in goal differential over Gotham FC (also 53 points) and a one-point advantage over Kansas City.
Gotham FC plays tonight, while Kansas City plays on Sunday afternoon. Thus, the Spirit may not know its final seeding placement until Sunday. However, should the Spirit win on Saturday while maintaining its advantage in goal differential over Gotham FC, the Spirit will lock down the #2 overall seed on Saturday night.
The all-time series with the North Carolina Courage is one of the most lopsided ones among Spirit opponents. The Spirit has won only four times in 17 total regular season matches.
Saturday’s match will be held at the Courage’s home turf of WakeMed Soccer Park, where the Spirit holds a 2-4-1 record.
In recent history, North Carolina has won four straight matches in all competitions against Washington with the last three being shutouts. The only team to keep four straight clean sheets against the Spirit was the original Utah Royals FC in 2018-19.
Ashley Hatch has scored nine career goals in all competitions against the Courage, two more than any other player against North Carolina (Sam Kerr, Midge Purce – 7 each). It is Hatch’s second-most goals against any club, having scored ten times against Orlando.
Look out for Tara McKeown who can secure an Iron Woman season, having played every single available regular season minute for the Spirit this season. Should she accomplish this, she would become only the fourth player (sixth occurrence) in Spirit history to do so.
Next up, the Spirit begins its 2024 NWSL Playoff campaign, kicking off the action at Audi Field on Sunday, November 10 at 12:30 p.m. EST. Tickets are going quickly, so be sure to secure yours today.
The Spirit’s quarterfinal opponent is to be determined based on the outcome of games this weekend. This opponent could be one of the following teams: North Carolina, Chicago, Portland, Bay FC or Louisville.
The Opponent
The Courage fell to Bay FC, 0-1, in the team’s most recent NWSL match. Having already locked in the #5 overall seed in the NWSL Playoffs, the result did not impact the club’s postseason positioning.
Despite controlling 60% of possession, the Courage’s specialty, Bay FC controlled the game, doubling the Courage’s shot on goal total and nearly doubling its total shot tally.
This season, the Courage leads the NWSL in possession, which it has the entire season, with an average of over 57% possession.
As mentioned, the Courage locked in the fifth seed on the NWSL table, thus its playoff fate will be determined by the results of others. That said, the Courage will travel to play either Washington, Gotham FC or Kansas City next weekend.
The Courage effectively neutralized the Spirit in the two teams’ most recent matchup. The Spirit did not score a goal, one of only four times that occurred this season.
The Spirit did rattle off 19 shots – compared to the Courage’s eight – but only logged four of them on net. Former Spirit player Ashley Sanchez was the difference in the match, finding the back of the net in the 19th minute.
The Courage will be tough to beat on its own turf. The team is unbeaten in its last 21 regular season home games, a streak that began in May 2023. It’s the second-longest home unbeaten streak in the league’s regular season history as North Carolina can tie Seattle Reign FC (22, April 2014-August 2015) for the longest such streak if it avoids defeat on Saturday.
Finally, keep an eye on one of the Courage’s unsung heroes, Kaleigh Kurtz. Over the last four seasons, Kurtz has played 10,298 minutes in all competitions for the Courage. No other NWSL player in that time has played more than 9,500 minutes.
As the Courage will have to hit the road for the first round of the playoffs, the opponent, date and time of the club’s quarterfinal match is not yet determined.
All-Time Series History
The Washington Spirit owns a 4-11-2 regular season record against the North Carolina Courage. On the road, the Spirit has not fared well, winning just twice in seven attempts.
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