Get to Know: North Carolina Courage

CHICAGO – The Chicago Red Stars return to SeatGeek Stadium for a matchup against North Carolina Courage on Sunday, July 21 at 5 pm CT on ESPN 2. Here’s what you need to know about our upcoming opponent: 

Opponent Form

The Courage faced Reign FC in a battle between the first and second place teams in the NWSL last Saturday. Lynn Williams opened the scoring for North Carolina in the 22nd minute before Debinha’s goal in the 55th minute sealed the win for the Courage. With the win, North Carolina surged to the top spot in the NWSL standings. They are unbeaten in their last five games, scoring 13 goals during that time. 

Who’s Heating Up? 

Williams and Debinha were the goal scorers last week, but Kristen Hamilton has been on fire for the Courage. Two weeks ago, Hamilton dominated the Houston backline in route to a four-goal night, leading her to be named the NWSL Player of the Week. The following week she provided the assist on Williams’ opening goal. Hamilton has inserted herself into the Golden Boot race with seven goals this year. Of the last 13 goals the Courage scored, she has been directly involved in eight of them, scoring seven and assisting another. 

Round Three

This is the third time the Red Stars and the Courage will face each other this season. Both teams opened their 2019 campaign at WakeMed Soccer Park on April 13, where they tied 1-1 thanks to goals from Sam Kerr and Crystal Dunn. Their second matchup came on Mother’s Day, a 3-1 Red Stars victory, and handed the Courage their first loss since June 2018. Kerr secured the win by scoring a brace and assisting in Michele Vasconcelos’ goal.

Fun fact to know

This match features three of the top four goal scorers in the league: Sam Kerr (9), Kristen Hamilton (7), and Lynn Williams (5). This match will also feature four of the five NWSL players tied for mosts assists, with Jaelene Hinkle, Lynn Williams, Merrit Mathias, and Yuki Nagasato all with four assists.