East Wake Times

The North Carolina Courage played to a scoreless draw against the undefeated Orlando Pride on Saturday night at WakeMed Soccer Park. The result brings the Courage to 16 points with a 5-1-7 record from 13 fixtures.

Despite missing several key players and facing a team at the top of the NWSL table, the Courage demonstrated their depth and resilience. Goalkeeper Casey Murphy made crucial saves early in the match, including stopping a one-timer from Marta in the fourth minute and another shot from Julie Doyle shortly thereafter.

Haley Hopkins had the first significant opportunity for the Courage in the 27th minute, but her shot was deflected into Anna Moorhouse’s hands by scrambling defenders. The Courage continued to press, with Ashley Sanchez and Narumi Miura both coming close to scoring before halftime.

In the second half, the Courage maintained their pressure. A chaotic moment in front of Orlando's net around the hour mark saw multiple chances for a goal. Haley Hopkins put a header on target in the 83rd minute, and despite winning a corner at the end of stoppage time, they settled for a draw.

Match notes included Natalia Staude being rostered for her first match after starting her NWSL contract in June due to collegiate commitments. The kickoff was delayed to 7:54 p.m. ET due to field maintenance. Kaleigh Kurtz extended her record for consecutive regular-season minutes played with another full game.

Next up, North Carolina will host Chicago Red Stars next Sunday at WakeMed Soccer Park with a kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m. ET as part of their Pride Night celebrations.

Box Score:

NCC (4-3-3): Casey Murphy; Feli Rauch, Malia Berkely, Kaleigh Kurtz, Tyler Lussi; Narumi Miura, Denise O’Sullivan © (Landy Mertz – 90+5’), Ashley Sanchez; Haley Hopkins, Bianca St-Georges (Riley Jackson – 79’), Victoria Pickett (Brianna Pinto – 78’)

Subs Not Used: Marisa Bova, Julia Dorsey, Natalia Staude, Jenna Winebrenner, Maya McCutcheon, Meredith Speck

ORL (4-3-3): Anna Moorhouse; Brianna Martinez (Cori Dyke – 74’), Emily Sams, Kylie Strom, Haley McCutcheon; Summer Yates (Angelina – 74’), Marta ©, Kerry Abello; Adrianna (Amanda Allen – 90’), Julie Doyle (Ally Watt – 74’), Barbra Banda

Subs Not Used: McKinley Crone, Ally Lemos, Mariana Larroquette

Score:

NCC: 0

ORL: 0

Cautions:

NCC: T. Lussi – 16’, K. Kurtz – 49’

ORL: Bench – 61’, A. Watt – 86’

Attendance: 4,776