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North Carolina Courage will take on the Washington Spirit on Saturday in a NWSL Challenge Cup match. This is one of the final matches of the group stage and is an important one, as the Courage currently lead the Spirit by two points in the East Division standings.
Watch North Carolina Courage vs Washington Spirit on fuboTV (free 7-day trial)
The winner of each division will automatically advance to the four-team knockout stage, while the highest-ranked second place team will move on as well.
Ahead of the match, GOAL has the details of how to watch on TV, stream online, team news and more.
Games | North Carolina Courage vs. Washington Spirit |
Date | April 23, 2022 |
Times | 1:00 pm ET, 10:00 am PT |
Stream | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
TV channel, live stream & how to watch
In the United States (US), NWSL Challenge Cup matches can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (watch with a 7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
U.S. TV channel | Online stream |
---|---|
CBS | fubo TV (try for free) |
Team news & rosters
Position | North Carolina roster |
---|---|
Goalkeepers | Rowland, Murphy, Bova |
Defenders | Smith, Kurtz, C. Pickett, Erceg, Berkely, Mathias, Williams, Bowen, Daniels, Fregulia, K. Pickett |
Midfielders | Pinto, O'Sullivan, Debinha, Gray, Solaun, Stackpole, Tagliaferri, Speck |
Forwards | Kerolin, Ordonez, Ratcliffe, Baisden, Baucom, Gauvin |
The Courage defeated Orlando 4-2 in the team’s last Challenge Cup match. Orlando’s Megan Montefusco recorded an own goal just three minutes into the game to put the Courage ahead, then Jaelene Daniels and Taylor Smith both scored before the 10-minute mark to make it 3-0. Orlando would close the gap, but a late Débora Cristiane de Oliveira goal made for the final margin.
In last year’s Challenge Cup, the Courage finished second in the East Division, just one point behind Gotham FC. In the augural Challenge Cup, the team earned the No.1 seed after the preliminary round but was knocked out in the first round of the knockout stage. The team lost to Washington 1-0 in the first round of last season’s NWSL Playoffs.
Projected North Carolina Courage starting XI: Pickett, Erceg, Kurtz, Mathias, Speck, Debinha, O’Sullivan, Pickett, Smith, Hinkle; Rowland
Position | Washington roster |
---|---|
Goalkeepers | Kingsbury, Kerr, Barnhart |
Defenders | Staab, Rodriguez, O'Hara, Sonnett, Goff, Vincent, Brooks, Huster, Martin, Biegalski |
Midfielders | Aylmer, Baggett, Sullivan, Roddar, Bailey, Heilferty |
Forwards | Rodman, Collins, McKeown, Sanchez, Feist, Alexander, Hatch |
Washington is coming off of a 3-1 win over Gotham FC in its last Challenge Cup match, with Ashley Sanchez putting the Spirit on the board in the 24th minute and Trinity Rodman adding a pair of goals after that. The Spirit had as many shots on target (six) as Gotham FC had total shots.
In last year’s Challenge Cup, the Spirit finished fourth in the East Division, winning just one of the team’s four games in the group stage. But the team bounced back when the regular NWSL season happened, beating Chicago last November in overtime in the NWSL championship game.
Projected Washington Spirit starting XI: Biegalski, Staab, Brooks, O’Hara, Roddar, Aylmer, Heilferty, Sanchez, Rodman, Hatch; Bledsoe
Last five results
Courage results | Spirit results |
---|---|
Orlando 2-4 North Carolina (Apr 16) | Gotham 1-3 Washington (Apr 17) |
Gotham 1-1 North Carolina (Apr 3) | Washington 4-0 Orlando (Apr 3) |
Washington 2-2 North Carolina (Mar 30) | Washington 2-2 North Carolina (Mar 30) |
North Carolina 1-0 Orlando (Mar 26) | Washington 1-1 Gotham (Mar 25) |
North Carolina 2-0 Gotham (Mar 19) | Orlando 0-0 Washington (Mar 19) |
Head-to-head
Date | Result |
---|---|
3/30/2022 | Washington 2-2 North Carolina |
11/7/2021 | Washington 1-0 North Carolina |
10/13/2021 | North Carolina 1-2 Washington |
8/29/2021 | Washington 0-0 North Carolina |
7/10/2021 | Washington 2-0 North Carolina |