Bay FC (8W-11L-0D; 24 pts) travels to Cary to take on the North Carolina Courage (10W-8L-1D; 31 pts) at WakeMed Soccer Park on Friday, September 13 at 4:00 p.m. PDT. The match will be broadcast locally on NBC Sports Bay Area and available for all fans to stream on NWSL+.
Friday will be Bay FC’s first time facing the Courage, who is the final NWSL team remaining that Bay FC has yet to play in the 2024 season.
North Carolina’s stalwart defense will be a challenge. Led by the U.S. Women’s National Team’s Casey Murphy in goal, North Carolina ranks third in the league both for shutouts with 6 and fewest goals allowed with 20. Their offense is led by Ashley Sanchez and Tyler Lussi, each with four goals. North Carolina is in strong form, coming off consecutive wins against Kansas City Current and San Diego Wave FC, and has not lost a regular-season NWSL match at home since April 15, 2023.
Although Bay has yet to face North Carolina in the NWSL, the opponent is still familiar to many players. Tess Boade spent two seasons with the Courage before being acquired by Bay FC in the expansion draft. Goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland had a couple stints with the Courage from 2017-2021 and 2022-23 before being selected by Bay FC in the third round of the Expansion Draft. During Abby Dahlkemper’s time in North Carolina, she was named NWSL Defender of the Year in 2017 and to the NWSL Best XI in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Rowland and Dahlkemper won two NWSL championships and three NWSL Shields while teammates in North Carolina.
Despite the challenge ahead in North Carolina, Bay FC will be looking to build on back-to-back strong performances after a 3-1 win on the road against Portland Thorns and a 1-0 win at home against Racing Louisville FC, which saw them strengthen their playoff hopes. Bay currently sits in 7th place in the NWSL standings, one point ahead of the Chicago Red Stars in 8th. A win on Friday in North Carolina would mark a season-high three consecutive wins.
Watch: Fans in the local area can watch the match on NBC Sports Bay Area. Internationally, fans in Australia can watch on Optus. For fans in all other areas, the match will be available on NWSL+.
Next Home Match: Bay FC hosts league-leaders Orlando Pride at home on Friday, September 20 at 7:30 p.m., presented by Visa. Tickets are available now!
Jerseys: Bay FC will wear their white primary jerseys during the match. Buy yours online here.
Lineups: Lineups will be available shortly before kickoff below and in the Bay FC app.
Live Scores: Download the Bay FC app on the App Store or Google Play for live scores and stats as well as Bay FC goal push notifications. A live match feed is also available below and on NWSLSoccer.com.
