CHICAGO, IL. (June 10, 2023) — The North Carolina Courage leave Chicago with three points after a major 0-5 win over the Red Stars in SeatGeek Stadium. The Courage are unbeaten in six straight regular season matches and now sit at third in the NWSL standings on goal differential.

The Courage came out strong in the first half with an early goal. Tess Boade started the action with a layoff ball to Mille Gejl who drove to the end line, and delivered a perfect ball for Kerolin to get her fifth goal of the season. Coming later in the half Denise O’Sullivan got the ball to Gejl’s feet where she hit a rocket into the upper left of the net. To end the half Kaleigh Kurtz added to the list of assists with a long ball over the top to Kerolin who took on three players and got the ball in the back of the net from near post. Starting the second half on a high note, captain Denise O’Sullivan received a pass back from Narumi Miura at the top of the box and hits a dime to the upper left corner to keep the lead going. Adding to the tally of goals is Kerolin with her third of the match, giving her the hat trick this match. Chicago had very few chances to come back from the heavy offense of the Courage. This led to a shut out on the road for North Carolina giving them a three-point win.

Match Notes:

• The last time NC had 3 goals in first half … October 6, 2021 vs LOU (3-1 win).

• This is the second time in club history scoring 5+ goals on the road. 

• North Carolina jumps all the way to 3rd place ahead of both Washington (+4) and Gotham FC (+3) on goal differential (NC +4 – ahead of Spirit on goals scored)

Next Match: The Courage head into a midweek UKG Challenge Cup match against Washington Spirit, Wednesday June 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Audi Field. The match will stream live on Paramount+.

Box Score:

NCC (4-3-3): Casey Murphy, Emily Fox, Malia Berkely, Kaleigh Kurtz, Ryan Williams (Kiki Pickett –73’), Victoria Pickett (Frankie Tagliaferri – 64’), Denise O’Sullivan ©, Narumi Miura, Kerolin (Brittany Ratcliffe – 72’), Mille Gejl (Brianna Pinto – 72’), Tess Boade (Olivia Wingate – 64’) Subs Not Used: Rikke Madsen, Tyler Lussi, Katelyn Rowland, Meredith Speck, CHI (4-3-3): Alyssa Naeher, Casey Krueger, Tierna Davidson, Tatumn Milazzo, Cari Roccaro, Yuki Nagasato(Jill Aguilera – 68’), Bianca St-Georges (Jenna Bike – 64’), Arin Wright, Ava Cook (Cheyna Matthews – 56’), Julia Bianchi, Sandra Starke (Ella Stevens – 57’) Subs Not Used: Emily Boyd, Kayla Sharples, Sophie Jones, Taylor Malham, Sam Fisher

Score:

NCC: 5 CHI: 0

Goals:

NCC: 11’ Kerolin Nicoli – 11’ (Mille Gejl), Mille Gejl – 31’ (Denise O’Sullivan), Kerolin Nicoli – 34’ (Kaleigh Kurtz), Denise O’Sullivan – 52’ (Narumi Miura), Kerolin Nicoli – 60’ CHI:

Cautions:

NCC: CHI: J. Bike – 76’, T. Milazzo – 90’ + 7’ Ejections: NCC: – CHI: –