When: Saturday, September 6 | Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET | Watch: ION | Where: First Horizon Stadium
CARY, N.C. (Sept. 5, 2025) — The North Carolina Courage are back at home this weekend, hosting the Utah Royals on Saturday, September 6, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcast on ION and tickets are available here.
Prior to Saturday’s match, the Courage will honor Meredith Speck for 100 NWSL regular season appearances. The midfielder, who has been with the Courage since the team moved to North Carolina from New York, achieved the milestone against Chicago on August 22.
The match will also be the Courage’s Barbie Game Night, featuring Barbie-themed activations, including Barbie box photo-ops and design-a-doll halftime activity.
The Courage enter the weekend in 10th in the NWSL standings with a 5W-7L-6D record and 21 points, while the Royals sit 14th with a 2-11-5 record and 11 points. The Courage are currently three points back of eighth-place Gotham in the final playoff spot with eight games to go.
The Royals traded former first-overall draft pick Ally Sentnor to Kansas City early in August, but reloaded their attack with the recently announced Slovenian forward Lara Prašnikar. Prašnikar, the first Slovenian to sign in the NWSL, scored 44 goals in 122 appearances for Eintracht Frankfurt between 2020 and 2024.
While Sentnor was the creative engine in the attack, Brecken Mozingo and former Courage forward Bianca St-Georges lead the goalscoring with three each. Japanese international Mina Tanaka is also an attacking threat, with two goals on the season.
Payton Linnehan made her Courage debut during the Courage’s match at Kansas City this past weekend, subbing into the match in the 83’. The Courage acquired the former first-round pick via trade from the Portland Thorns.
The Courage also added to the forward line this week with former Princeton Tiger Heather MacNab. The forward has trained with the Courage throughout the season after starting the year as a non-roster invitee and signing a short-term contract early in the season.
The Courage won the first meeting with the Royals this season, 2-0, in May. Ashley Sanchez opened the scoring in that match, finding the back of the net in Utah in back-to-back seasons, before a Royals own goal secured the win. Sanchez scored her first goal in a Courage jersey in Utah in 2024. The Courage have a 4-2-3 all-time record against the Royals in NWSL regular season play.
The Details
What they’ll wear:
Courage — Field: Pink/Pink/Pink | GK: Lavender
Royals — Field: Blue/Blue/Blue | GK: Green
2025 Records:
Courage — 5W-7L-6D (10th, 21 points)
Royals — 2W-11L-5D (14th, 11 points)
Courage vs. Royals (Regular Season): 4W-2L-3D
Last time out:
Courage — 2-0 Loss, at Kansas City Current
Royals — 2-1 Win, at Portland Thorns
Up next:
The Courage remain at home to take on Angel City in a primetime matchup on CBS. The match is set to kick off at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 13.
