The 2025 North Carolina Courage season was the team's ninth season as a professional women's soccer team. The Courage played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top tier of women's soccer in the United States. They reached the mid-season break just outside of a playoff spot in ninth place, tied on points with eighth-place Gotham FC with 18, but losing the first tiebreaker, goal differential, with a -2 GD compared to Gotham's +5 GD. They finished the season one point out of the playoffs in ninth place.
Background
In the 2024 National Women's Soccer League season, the Courage were never outside of a playoff spot during the season, eventually settling into 5th place for the final 10 weeks of the regular season, before falling to 4th-seeded Kansas City Current in the first round of the playoffs. The Courage also advanced to the knockout rounds of the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup.
Coaching changes
On August 6, 2025, at 7:45 p.m. EDT, the club posted a statement on instagram saying "The North Carolina Courage have terminated the contract of Head Coach Sean Nahas, effective immediately. The North Carolina Courage remain focused on the continued development of the team and maintaining a professional, competitive environment for players, staff, and supporters." No interim head coach was named.
In a press conference at 11 a.m. on August 7, the club named Nathan Thackeray as Acting Head Coach. When asked about the coaching search, Chief Soccer Officer Ceri Bowley said "We'll take stock after tomorrow's game."
Team
Squad
NationPlayer
Staff
ExecutiveCoaching
Competitions
Friendlies
Regular season
Regular season standings
Results summary
Results by matchday
Appearances and goals
|colspan="14"|Goalkeepers:
|colspan="14"|Defenders:
|colspan="14"|Midfielders:
|colspan="14"|Forwards:
|colspan="14"|Players who left the club during the season:
Transactions
Transfers In DatePlayerPositionSource clubFee/notesRef January 14, 2025 Jaedyn Shaw MF San Diego Wave FC $450,000 January 21, 2025 Shinomi Koyama MF Djurgårdens IF Fotboll (women) $225,000 May 22, 2025 Katie Cappelletti GK None Training player signed to contract through 2025 September 5, 2025 Heather MacNab FW None Training player signed to contract through 2025 September 12, 2025 Oli Peña MF None Free agent signed to a contract through 2026 September 12, 2025 Natalie Jacobs DF Houston Dash $75,000 + Malia Berkely August 30, 2025 Payton Linnehan FW Portland Thorns FC $48,000 October 16, 2025 Sydney Schmidt DF Sporting JAX (women) (unpaid academy contract) Signed through 2027
Out DatePlayerPositionDestination clubFee/notesRef February 18, 2025 Bianca St-Georges FW None Mutual Termination August 22, 2025 Sydney Collins DF Bay FC $60,000 September 11, 2025 Jaedyn Shaw MF Gotham FC $1.25m September 12, 2025 Malia Berkely + $75,000 DF Houston Dash Natalie Jacobs
Loans DatePlayerPositionDestination clubFee/notesRef January 31, 2025 Victoria Pickett MF AFC Toronto (NSL) Loan July 14, 2025 Charlotte McLean DF Tampa Bay Sun FC (USLS) Loan August 28, 2025 Brooklyn Courtnall DF Bay FC (NWSL) Loan
Contracts
Options exercised
Extensions DatePlayerPositionNotesRef August 27, 2025 Felicitas RauchDF 2027 August 30, 2025 Payton LinnehanFW 2027 + 2028 mutual option December 1, 2025 Dani WeatherholtMF 2026 December 3, 2025 Riley JacksonMF 2028
Awards
NWSL season awards
Player Ref. Manaka Matsukubo
NWSL Best XI
Position Player Ref. MF Manaka Matsukubo
NWSL Player of the Month
Month Player Ref. October/November Manaka Matsukubo
NWSL Team of the Month
Month Player Ref. March Ryan Williams April Ryan Williams May Manaka Matsukubo June Manaka Matsukubo October/November Manaka Matsukubo
NWSL Player of the Week
Week Player Club 9 Manaka Matsukubo North Carolina Courage 25 Manaka Matsukubo North Carolina Courage
NWSL Goal of the Week
Week Player Honor 9 Manaka Matsukubo Nominee 11 Manaka Matsukubo Nominee 17 Manaka Matsukubo Nominee 20 Manaka Matsukubo Nominee 25 Manaka Matsukubo Nominee
NWSL Save of the Week
Week Player Honor 1 Casey Murphy Nominee 9 Casey Murphy Nominee
References
External links