East Wake Times

The North Carolina Courage are set to face the Kansas City Current in the NWSL playoff quarterfinals on Saturday, November 9, at 12 p.m. ET. The game will be available for viewing on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. A watch party is scheduled at the Downtown Raleigh Carolina Ale House with doors opening at 11 a.m. ET.

This upcoming match marks the first-ever NWSL playoff meeting between these two teams. However, they have met three times in knockout stages since 2022, tied for the most frequent matchup between any two NWSL teams during that period. The Courage previously defeated the Current twice in Challenge Cup semifinals while losing to them in this year's NWSLxLiga MX Femenil Summer Cup semifinals.

In their regular season meetings this year, each team won once at home. The Courage's victory was highlighted by a second-half equalizer from Cortnee Vine and a stoppage-time winner from Brianna Pinto.

Kansas City Current Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski has a record of 3-8-1 against the Courage across all competitions. In contrast, Courage Head Coach Sean Nahas holds a record of 4-5-0 against Kansas City.

In terms of offensive power, Kansas City's Temwa Chawinga led her team to break an NWSL scoring record with 57 goals this season. Debinha contributed significantly with three goals and six assists. Meanwhile, North Carolina boasts one of the league's strongest defenses, having conceded only 28 goals this season.

Goalkeeper Casey Murphy is noted as a key defensive asset for North Carolina due to her impressive performance in previous playoffs, ranking second in saves with fewer games played than other top goalkeepers like Kansas City's AD Franch.

Historically, North Carolina holds a playoff record of 5-3-0 with all losses coming against eventual champions. Their past playoff appearances include winning titles in both 2018 and 2019.

Courage captain Denise O’Sullivan leads her team in playoff appearances and minutes played while Kaleigh Kurtz and Casey Murphy are among those who have started multiple playoff games for the club.