The North Carolina Courage concluded their NWSL regular season with a 0-1 loss against the Washington Spirit at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., on Saturday night. The match drew a crowd of 10,026 fans, marking the second-largest regular season attendance in the club’s history.
Ashley Hatch scored the decisive goal for Washington Spirit in the 37th minute with a long-range shot that secured a lead going into halftime. The North Carolina Courage made several substitutions at the start of the second half, including Denise O’Sullivan and Ashley Sanchez, which improved their performance. Tyler Lussi came close to equalizing in the 58th minute but was denied by an offside call.
The North Carolina Courage will now prepare to face Kansas City Current in the NWSL quarterfinals on November 9 at noon ET. The game will be available on CBS and streamed via Paramount+.
Match notes highlighted that North Carolina Courage made five changes to their starting lineup from their previous match, which was their highest number of changes this season. Kaleigh Kurtz and Casey Murphy completed every minute of play during the regular season, earning them “Iron Women” status.
The final score saw Washington Spirit victorious with one goal scored by Ashley Hatch assisted by Makenna Morris. No cautions or ejections were recorded for either team during this match.
