West Wake News

CARY, N.C. (June 21, 2024) – The North Carolina Courage will host the Chicago Red Stars for Pride Night at WakeMed Soccer Park this Sunday, June 23, at 6 p.m. ET. The match will stream nationally on NWSL+ and air locally on COZI-TV with club legend Jessica McDonald set to make her Courage analyst debut alongside Dean Linke.

The Courage aims to build off an impressive showing last weekend where the shorthanded side battled league-leading Orlando to a scoreless draw. The team currently sits in seventh place in the standings, entering the weekend with a 5-1-7 record for 16 points from 13 fixtures.

Sunday's event will celebrate Pride, supported by Cary Estate Planning, featuring special performances, giveaways, vendors, merchandise, guests, and more. Drag performers will be present in FanFest near the northeast entrance from 4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. ET.

Additionally, Sunday will mark the beginning of the Conversation over Cleats initiative. The cleats will be displayed in FanFest on Sunday to kick off an auction that ends on June 26 at 11:59 p.m. A link to the auction will be posted on the Courage social media channels.

North Carolina is tied for the league lead with five clean sheets but has struggled to score recently. Despite scoring just once in their last seven fixtures, there were promising signs and significant opportunities last weekend. Chicago has only played two matches this season without multiple goals—both resulting in 1-0 defeats—indicating potential chances on both ends this Sunday.

The Courage defense faces another challenge after stalling Barbra Banda last week as they now welcome Mallory Swanson leading Chicago's attack. North Carolina’s defense will return to full strength with Ryan Williams back from her red card suspension last week.

Chicago is one slot ahead of North Carolina in sixth place with a 5-2-6 record for 17 points from 13 fixtures. While winless in four straight games, the Red Stars are coming off an impressive 2-2 draw against undefeated Kansas City which snapped a three-match losing streak. Chicago is amid a stretch of five out of six away games but has lost just once in six road matches (three wins and two draws) this season.

Historically, the Courage holds an all-time record of eight wins, six losses, and five draws against Chicago (4-6-5 regular season), remaining unbeaten in five straight regular-season meetings (three wins and two draws). The last regular-season loss occurred on June 5, 2021; however, under new ownership and head coach this year it appears that one of the league’s most storied franchises has returned to form in 2024 as they prepare for Sunday's match against a reloaded Red Stars team.

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