CARY, N.C. (May 9, 2025) — The North Carolina Courage are back at home this weekend, hosting the second-place Orlando Pride on Saturday, May 10, at 7:30 p.m. ET at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park.

The Courage enter the match on a two-match winning streak, knocking off the league-leading Kansas City Current at home to end April before carrying that momentum into a strong, 2-0, road win over the Utah Royals.

A tactical change to a 3-4-3 helped spark the Courage to both victories. Head Coach Sean Nahas said after the win over Kansas City that the formation change isn’t a departure from the team’s overall play style, with the shift helping to get the Courage’s most dangerous players into their most advantageous position.

Ryan Williams, who scored and assisted against the Current, and Ashley Sanchez, who has now scored in back-to-back games, have been the most direct beneficiaries of the move, but multiple players have reaped the benefits, including Feli Rauch’s unsung role on the “weak side” of the formation.

Maycee Bell has been excellent in the three-back as well, shutting down reigning league MVP Temwa Chawinga in the first half against the Courage and winning 100% of her attempted duels and tackles. Bell is just the 10th NWSL player since 2016 to win 100% of both with at least three tackles won and eight duels won.

On the other side of Saturday’s battle, the reigning NWSL Shield Winners and Champions hit the ground running in their title defense, but have lost two of their last three matches. Matchday 7 of the season saw the Pride shut out by the Portland Thorns, who claimed a 1-0 victory behind Reyna Reyes’ 16’ goal.

Despite the recent losses, the Pride remain one of the most offensively dominant attacks in the league with an NWSL-leading 14 goals this season.

Both the Courage and Pride put together thrilling 3-2 comeback wins in Match Day 6, with the Pride overcoming a 2-0 second-half deficit against Angle City and the Courage scoring twice in stoppage time to down the Current.

Barbara Banda and Marta have led the way for the Pride with four and three goals, respectively, while Marta has also been pulling the creative strings with a team-leading 15 chances created.

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Anna Moorhouse has been excellent in net for the Pride this season but had to be substituted in the 51’ of the Pride’s loss to the Thorns.

The Details

What they’ll wear:

Courage — Field: Blue/Blue/Blue | GK: Lavender

Pride — Field: Orange/Orange/Orange | GK: Green

2025 Records:

Courage — 2W-3L-2D (9th, 8 points)

Pride — 5W-2L-0D (2nd, 15 points)

Courage vs. Pride (Regular Season): 10W-6L-2D

Last time out:

Courage — Win, 2-0 at Utah Royals

Pride — Loss, 1-0 at Portland Thorns

Up next:

The Courage are back at home for a second weekend in a row, taking on the Chicago Stars on Saturday, May 17, at 5 p.m. ET. Tickets for that match are available here.