The 2017 North Carolina Courage season was the team's first season as a professional women's soccer team. North Carolina Courage plays in the National Women's Soccer League, the top tier of women's soccer in the United States. The Courage finished the regular season atop the table, winning the NWSL Shield and earning a spot in the NWSL Playoffs. After defeating Chicago 1–0 in the semi-finals of the playoffs, it lost 0–1 to Portland in the final.
Review
The team played its previous season as the Western New York Flash, which won the 2016 NWSL Championship. The owners of North Carolina FC purchased the Flash and moved them to Cary, North Carolina, in January 2017 to create the Courage franchise, and retained most of the Flash's roster and coaching staff.
Team
First-team roster
Source: North Carolina Courage
Transactions
2017 NWSL College Draft
Source: National Women's Soccer League
RoundPickPlayerNotesPrevious TeamRound 12 FW Brigham Young UniversityRound 17 DF UCLARound 220 DF ClemsonRound 327 FW University of Nebraska
In
DatePlayerPositions playedPrevious clubFee/notesRef. December 23, 2016 Rosana MF Houston Dash Acquired while the franchise operated as the Western New York Flash. January 5, 2017 Debinha MF Dalian Quanjian F.C. January 19, 2017 Samantha Witteman MF Orlando Pride Acquired in a trade for Alanna Kennedy. April 4, 2017 Yuri Kawamura DF Albirex Niigata Ladies April 10, 2017 Ashley Hatch FW Brigham Young University Signed college draft picks. Darian Jenkins FW University of California, Los Angeles June 16, 2017 Stephanie Ochs DF Houston Dash Acquired off waivers. July 26, 2017 Nora Holstad DF FC Bayern Munich July 28, 2017 Denise O'Sullivan MF Houston Dash Acquired off waivers.
Out
DatePlayerPositions playedDestination clubFee/notesRef. January 19, 2017 Alanna Kennedy DF Orlando Pride Traded to acquire Samantha Witteman. May 27, 2017 Courtney Niemiec DF Retired. June 21, 2017 Rosana MF Waived.
Competitions National Women's Soccer League Preseason
Source: North Carolina FC
Regular season
Source: National Women's Soccer League
Postseason playoffs
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Honors and awards
NWSL Team of the Month
Month Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards Ref. April Debinha Sam Mewis Lynn Williams June Abby Dahlkemper Sam Mewis Ashley Hatch July Abby Dahlkemper Taylor Smith McCall Zerboni August Katelyn Rowland Taylor Smith Sam Mewis
NWSL Player of the Week Week Result Player Ref. 16 Sam Mewis
NWSL Goal of the Week Week Result Player Ref. 1 McCall Zerboni 2 Debinha 3 Lynn Williams 6 7 Debinha 8 Ashley Hatch 9 16 Sam Mewis
NWSL Save of the Week WeekResultPlayerRef.3 Sabrina D'Angelo
Statistics
Source: National Women's Soccer League
1GKSabrina D'Angelo7763000000--0010013DFAbby Dahlkemper10109000002150.00%65010010MFDébora Debinha109819310221359.09%409003FWMakenzy Doniak109657020200.00%005004DFElizabeth Eddy202600000--000006DFAbby Erceg886871106350.00%0031123FWKristen Hamilton5115420022100.00%0060012FWAshley Hatch8226620012866.67%0051015DFJaelene Hinkle886940104125.00%1280016FWDarian Jenkins00000000--0000020DFYuri Kawamura875880002150.00%00101014FWJessica McDonald8762021019842.11%021005MFSamantha Mewis101090022216743.75%70112017DFCourtney Niemiec00000000--0000022DFStephanie Ochs10300000--000008MFRosana Rosana416800011100.00%015000GKKatelyn Rowland3327000000--0000011DFTaylor Smith10555301022100.00%00131026DFMeredith Speck201700000--000009FWLynn Williams99810320301653.33%0730026MFSam Witteman7430500011100.00%008107MFMcCall Zerboni101090021010550.00%302140Team Total 1401109867171221316952.67%8012110111
See also 2016 Western New York Flash season 2017 National Women's Soccer League season 2017 in American soccer
References
Match reports (pre-season)
Match reports (regular season)
External links