WakeMed Soccer Park | Cary, North Carolina – Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00 PM ET
Players to watch:
For the second time this season, North Carolina forward Tyler Lussi scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory for the Courage, doing so on Mother’s Day against the Reign after accomplishing the same feat against Houston earlier in the year. Both goals came with Lussi as a starter, with the forward entering 2023 with just one career regular-season goal as a starter (August 2017 for POR vs. HOU). However, Brazilian attacker Kerolin is who leads the Courage in scoring through its seven games played this season, though two of those goals have come from the penalty spot.
Angel City attacker Jun Endo had three chances created against Washington on Saturday, the most of any player on either team. For the season, Endo has created 16 chances now, putting her one shy of the league leader, Orlando’s Adriana (17). In total, Endo has one goal and two assists on the year with only forward Claire Emslie contributing more goals and assists (4 – 2G, 2A) than the Japan international. In the scoring department, forward Alyssa Thompson leads the way with three goals.
Match facts: The North Carolina Courage host Angel City FC at WakeMed Soccer Park to kick off a full six-game slate across the league on Saturday and Sunday. An up and down start to the year for North Carolina has seen the side stretch an unbeaten run to three games (W2 D1) approaching this weekend’s match. Meanwhile, Angel City has won, drawn, and lost all in its last three games, most recently falling 1-0 to the Spirit in Washington.
North Carolina has won 20 of the 31 all-time home games it has played in the regular season when hosting teams from west of the Mississippi River (D4 L7). The Courage have allowed just five goals in those 20 victories (0.25 per game) compared to 22 in the 11 draws and losses (2.0 per game). This will be North Carolina’s last home match until June 18 with the club heading on the road for three straight after Saturday night.
Angel City has played just two road games so far this season in league play, a 2-1 win over Orlando and a 3-3 draw with Portland. The five goals are the team’s most ever over a span of two road games and the second most by any NWSL team in a two-game span on the road this season (Thorns – 7).
The home team has won each game between Angel City and North Carolina with ACFC winning 2-1 last April and the Courage taking a 1-0 win in September. All four goals in the fixture’s history have been scored by international players (Brazil’s Debinha & Kerolin, Japan’s Jun Endo, and Canada’s Vanessa Gilles).
