North Carolina Courage – Page 2 – Women's Soccer Express

NWSL News of Note: Wave sign UCLA’s Quincy McMahon, Thorns acquire Brazilian Daiane, Spirit re-sign Kaylie Collins, Courage CSO departs, “Gotham FC Alliance” announced

On Friday, two clubs announced additions: The San Diego Wave have signed UCLA defender Quincy McMahon, and the Portland Thorns have acquired Brazilian center-back Daiane via a transfer from CR Flamengo.

Additionally, the Washington Spirit have retained goalkeeper Kaylie Collins for the 2025 season.

In team news, the North Carolina Courage’s front office is without a Chief Soccer Officer after the departure of Curt Johnson.

Also, Gotham FC have announced a “Gotham FC Alliance” program for youth clubs which will involve player identification and development opportunities in order “to create a professional player pathway”.

NWSL: End-Of-Season Roster Updates for All 14 Clubs (10-Dec-2024)

On Tuesday, December 10th, all 14 NWSL teams published their initial offseason rosters. This post includes the announced roster for each club, in a standardized format.

The lists for each club are organized as follows:

Currently Signed: All players signed to a contract (for at least part of 2025) but not presently loaned to another club.
Out on Loan: Signed players that have current loan agreements.
Loan Expired: Players on loan from other clubs who have returned to their home club.
In Negotiations: Free agent players that the club acknowledges as still negotiating.
Free Agents: Players with expiring contracts that have not been retained and/or with options that have not been exercised.
Retired: Players that have announced their retirements from professional club soccer.

NWSL News of Note, Teams Edition: Courage deal falls through, Orlando training facility, Expansion update, Boston name do-over?

On Black Friday, Sportico reported that billionaire investor Marc Lasry’s planned acquisition of a 60% controlling stake in the North Carolina Courage will not be going forward.

The owners of the Orlando Pride and its Major League Soccer counterpart, Orlando City SC, are pursuing an expansion of Orlando City’s training facility and headquarters, which would apparently convert it into a fully combined facility for both clubs.

A few days before Thanksgiving, the 2026 Boston franchise launched a listening campaign that includes an online form which asks for “feedback on the team name”, “BOS Nation FC”.

Regarding the other 2026 expansion team, that is apparently down to bid from Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Denver, per a statement from NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman.

NWSL News of Note: Angel City’s new training facility, Current upgrade Caitlin Carducci to GM, Courage’s Cortnee Vine on mental health break

This week, Angel City announced that they will move “next door” into a training facility recently vacated by the Los Angeles Rams. The to-be-renovated facility is expected to be ready ahead of the 2025 NWSL preseason.

Also, the Kansas City Current’s interim general manager Caitlin Carducci is “interim” no more after a title upgrade on Wednesday.

Finally, Australian international Cortnee Vine is “taking some time off” to prioritize her mental health.

NWSL News of Note: Trinity Byars signed by Wave, Jess Fishlock and Ryan Williams extend, Celia Jiménez Delgado to retire, Rafaelle on SEI List

Leading the notables from the past week is the San Diego Wave’s signing of Texas forward Trinity Byars, who was a standout player for both the Longhorns and the USA’s U-20 WYNT.

Meanwhile, two key players for their teams, midfielder Jess Fishlock of the Seattle Reign and defender Ryan Williams of the North Carolina Courage, are extending their stays in the NWSL. Also, the Orlando Pride’s Celia Jiménez Delgado has announced that she will retire after the conclusion of the playoffs.

Additionally, the Brazilian international Rafaelle was placed on the season-ending injury list by the Orlando Pride due to a “partial tear” of a tendon in her right thigh, and Houston Dash back-up goalkeeper Heather Hinz has been loaned to Fort Lauderdale United of the USL Super League for the NWSL off-season.

Finally, some good news: Brazilian midfielder Luana, whose first season in the NWSL was cut short by a cancer diagnosis, completed a series of chemotherapy treatments for Hodgkin’s lymphoma in October and has had follow-up tests which show no evidence of the disease.

NWSL News of Note, Teams Edition: Billionaire Marc Lasry expected to acquire controlling stake in Courage; Bay FC to build training facility, Current stadium to host 2025 NCAA College Cup

Leading this edition of notables is the news that Steve Malik, the primary owner of the North Carolina Courage is in formal talks to sell a 60% stake in the Courage to billionaire Marc Lasry. Should that deal go through retired NWSL player Lauren Holiday is expected to have “a very active role” in the Courage organization.

Also, Bay FC has announced plans to acquire a lease of land on Treasure Island, in the San Francisco Bay, for a permanent and dedicated training facility, which would also include offices for its sporting operations.

In head coaching news, the Houston Dash have officially parted ways with Fran Alonso who had been mysteriously absent from the team since the end of June.

Other notables include:

Angel City: MLS club Los Angeles FC acquires minority stake
Kansas City Current: CPKC Stadium will host 2025 NCAA Women’s College Cup
Gotham FC: Ali Krieger named Club Ambassador
Portland Thorns: RAJ Sports awarded Portland WNBA Franchise
Racing Louisville’s attendance woes — “We’d love to see more of you”

Angel City’s violation of the salary cap and other league rules is covered in a separate post: Angel City FC fined $200,000 and docked 3 points for violating salary cap and other league rules.

Additionally, SafeSports investigation into former Chicago Red Stars head coach Rory Dames has apparently been closed due to “insufficient” evidence. However, the root cause appears to be a blatantly deficient investigation.

NWSL News of Note: Red Stars activate Rall and release Feller, McCutcheon signs with Wellington after being released by Courage

Here are the notable’s since last Friday:

Chicago Red Stars: Maxi Rall off 45-day injury list, Sami Feller released
North Carolina Courage: Maya McCutcheon released, signs with Wellington Phoenix of the A-League
San Diego Wave: Goalkeeper Mackenzie Rath signed as injury replacement player
U-20 WWC Players Update: USA and Japan advance to the semifinals

NWSL News of Note: Olympics Break Catch-Up: Balcer-Howell Swap, Katie Zelem to Angel City, Jess Carter to Gotham, and Lots More

After a seven week break for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the USWNT once again won gold, the second-half of the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League season gets underway on Friday, August 23rd.

During the Olympic break, most of the teams were involved in player trades, signings, and other roster moves. The most notable (and shocking) trade during the break, just happened on Monday, when the Seattle Reign and Racing Louisville swapped forward Bethany Balcer for Racing’s captain, midfielder Jaelin Howell. Meanwhile, the most surprising signing was not a player, but an interim head coach: Landon Donovan, with the San Diego Wave.

Updates:

August 20th: Racing signs Colombian defender Ángela Barón, NC Courage loan defender Talia Staude to USL Super League side Tampa Bay Sun…

For player-related moves, as well as other developments involving all fourteen NWSL teams, including Angel City FC’s sale to Willow Bay and Bob Iger, keep reading…