Maycee Bell’s defensive performance in the North Carolina Courage’s 2-0 win over the Utah Royals was something the NWSL hasn’t seen since 2019.

The former Tar Heel won all her duels (8/8) and her tackles (3/3). Since 2016, only 10 NWSL players have had a 100% success rate in a regular season match in both metrics while attempting at least eight duels and three tackles, and none have done so since 2019.

“Maycee’s been excellent. Last game was her best game, for sure. This year, her quality on the ball has been much, much better. She’s also a very good defender. Anything in behind, she is going to be able to win that ball. If this is just the start for Maycee, then I feel like there’s a lot more to come and a lot more potential for her. We’re really pleased with her,” said Courage assistant coach Victoria Boardman.

Bell, a second-year pro out of collegiate powerhouse University of North Carolina, has started the last four matches for the Courage at center back, the last two on the right side of the Courage’s new-look back-three.

It’s a relatively new look for the Courage, with the team lining up in a back three in just three matches over the last two seasons, but it’s not so new for Bell. During her time at Carolina, the Tar Heels often used a similar defensive setup and Bell was the right-side defender in that system.

“Being able to defend one-on-one in a back three is a necessity,” Bell said.

With Bell holding down the defensive duties on the right side, Ryan Williams has the freedom to push forward and be an attacking catalyst for the team. Williams scored and assisted against Kansas City and her crosses created both goals in Utah.

Despite having just 15 NWSL regular season games to her name, Bell is playing like a seasoned veteran and doing so against the league’s very best. Against the league-leading Kansas City Current, Bell went toe-to-toe with reigning NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga.

Going the full 90’, Bell won four out of six duels and one out of one tackle, while adding five clearances. The one time Chawinga, who was subbed at halftime, got the best of Bell, she made a smart tactical foul to stop the attack, earning a yellow card.

“Maycee Bell had one heck of a task tonight by keeping up with Chawinga. She did a fantastic job. She really shut her down as much as possible. She got the yellow card, but sometimes you need a tactical foul and she played the game super smart,” Kaleigh Kurtz said following the match.

The Courage traded for Bell during the 2024 season, bringing the Wichita, Kansas, native back to a familiar place. Before going to UNC, Bell joined the Courage Academy and played under Courage Head Coach Sean Nahas. Bell played just eight minutes for the Courage in 2024, but being in this training environment was also key to Bell’s growth.

“It’s one of the top training environments. The players that I’m going against and the drills we’re doing are just pushing me to my limit, pushing me to be better. That has honestly translated to the games. How you train is how you play and being able to get those reps in training has really helped me in games,” Bell said.

Speaking with CBS17’s Jordan Crammer for “Extra Time with the Courage,” a new weekly digital show talking all things Courage, Nahas highlighted Bell’s evolution this season.

“Now that she is in with us with the first team, over the course of this year alone, we have seen an evolution. The one thing we wanted her to focus on was her distribution because of how we play. At some points in a career, when the moment is given to you where you have to step up, it is what you do with that moment. She has been absolutely tremendous in doing that,” Nahas told Crammer.

Bell got that opportunity on short notice, sliding into the starting lineup against Gotham just before kickoff after Malia Berkely’s injury in warmups. For Boardman, Bell has made the most of that opportunity.

“She’s come in and done a good job. Now it’s just a case of showing what she can do each week and keep focusing on her performance. These opportunities are going to help her grow and help us as a team,” Boardman said.

In the Courage’s new-look formation, Bell has had the opportunity to shine but she isn’t the only second-year defender making the most of her opportunities. Natalia Staude has started the last two matches on the other side of Kurtz. Staude won three out of four tackles across the last two matches, while completing at least 84% of her passes in both.

Bell and Staude were both selected in the first half of the 2024 NWSL Draft, with Gotham taking Bell at the end of the first round and the Courage picking up Staude from Virginia in the middle of the second.

While Bell joined the Courage midseason, Staude spent the majority of the 2024 season on loan in the USL Super League with the Tampa Bay Sun, gaining valuable playing experience at the Division I professional level.

Staude and Bell are part of what has become an incredibly deep and very young corps of defensive depth for the Courage. In addition to the former ACC rivals, the Courage added USC standout Brooklyn Courtnall, the team’s first collegiate signing of the post-draft NWSL era, this offseason.

Add in established professionals like Kurtz, Malia Berkely, and Charlotte McLean, the Courage’s center back room has quickly become one of the team’s deepest and most reliable position groups.

“As younger players, we have really taken this opportunity to learn from KK and Malia. We see their tendencies and how we can implement some of those into our games and how we can communicate. I think that’s been amazing. I’ve learned a lot from KK coming in here and being able to play beside her. It’s an awesome opportunity to learn from players around us,” Bell said.

The defense has been solid all season and with the offense heating up, the Courage are starting to roll in 2025.