North Carolina Courage are the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup champions. It's their second consecutive title after winning the tournament in 2022, and their seventh NWSL title in seven years. The Courage defeated Racing Louisville FC 2-0 in the 2023 final on Saturday in dominating fashion. After a lengthy weather delay at the 11-minute mark, the Courage dominated large stretches of the match as the game resumed.
Despite some brief moments of transition by Racing, the Louisville side was unable to look threatening in front of goal and exits the tournament as runners-up in their first-ever NWSL title game. North Carolina Courage were active throughout the entire game, outshooting Louisville 12-6 in total. The goals came from Kerolin in the 28th minute after she spent the first half hour terrorizing Louisville's back line, and then Manaka Matsukubo provided a brilliant finish in the 54th minute and secured the silverware.
The Kentucky side entered the league in 2021 as an expansion franchise and exit their first-ever NWSL title game in any competition as runners-up. The team has tried to rebuild since their first season, after terminating their former head coach Christy Holly for cause, which was later investigated as sexual misconduct and coercion during the NWSL Joint Team investigation.
Head coach Kim Bjorkegren has built a roster through the draft and with internationals as the club continues to try and look ahead and compete for NWSL trophies. The team had the most players selected to the NWSL Challenge Cup Best XI, including goalkeeper Katie Lund who made nine saves against the Courage in the final.
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"I'm pretty bummed. You know, I think we really wanted this and we thought we had the momentum coming into the game and clearly it wasn't enough," she said after the game.
"You know, they played really well today, and we weren't able to match that. So part of that's on us, but now we turn the tables and we look forward to Friday because we're so close to this playoff push, and now we're just going to focus on that and that's where our focus will be."
The Courage are no strangers to building out their roster with international players, and Saturday Japanese international Matsukubo introduced herself to the league. The 19-year-old arrived at the Courage on loan from Mynavi Sendai of the Japanese WE League during the summer transfer window and has only featured in three games prior to the Cup final. She provided the insurance goal, and absolutely sublime first-time lob with the outside of her foot and earned Challenge Cup final MVP. She is the youngest player to score in any NWSL title game and earn the MVP honor.
"I don't think she's even gotten comfortable yet. I think she's still trying to figure out. There's things we want her to be better at. I think she she runs a lot and we don't want her running so much," Courage coach Sean Nahas joked druing post-game comments.
"It's a world class finish. I don't think anyone else would have thought about hitting that first time out of the air. I think it's shows the level of IQ she has and to catch Lund... So yeah, I'm thrilled for her. She was shocked that she won the MVP. But yeah, for a 19-year-old to come into this environment and have an impact I think says a lot about her."
North Carolina entered 2023 also looking to rebuild toward new success after navigating a tumultuous 2021 through the termination of former head coach Paul Riley after reports uncovered sexual misconduct and coercion. Nahas was officially named head coach for the 2022 season after taking over in the interim role, and immediately had to navigate as multiple Courage players who won titles with the franchise left for other clubs.
The group won the 2022 Challenge Cup, but missed out on a shot at the postseason, and there were question marks around how the club managed their draft classes as well. Now the team is in playoff contention and has just earned another Challenge Cup title.
"We do want to build off of it. We just don't know where that's going to take us because, remember, everyone had us last place in every category -- you know, we lead the league in possession, passing accuracy, whatever else you want to talk about on the attacking side," said Nahas.
"We've had clean sheets. And we just won Challenge Cup. And hopefully that narrative can change for a lot of people and stop doubting us and start talking about the work that these players have put in because they deserve all that up all the accolades that they've gotten."
Brazilian international Kerolin is in just her second season with the club and is helping the team find success on the pitch. The winger exited the 2022 Challenge Cup final with a significant ankle injury and returned to this year's final to score what was ultimately the game-winner. Despite the rumors around the player and whether or not she will stay in the league, she's excelling in her time with the Courage.
"She's she's still so young, but she has a special talent and I think she's just scratching the surface," Nahas said of Kerolin's performance.
"After she missed the early one, Lund made a great save, you can see she was in her head about it during the break. I said 'You're gonna get another moment. It's just what you do with it. You're gonna get another moment. So if you get that moment, it's your job to shine.' And she got the moment and it took the game on its head.
"I know she's passionate about the game, she wants to learn every single day. She takes it seriously. I know there's a lot of rumors but you know, I think those are stories that people don't know what goes on behind the scenes, and we're thrilled to have her here. We feel we've developed her, we're going to continue to develop her. We played her her strengths. At the World Cup she played in the midfield, her strengths to us, for us, are out wide because of her qualities."
The 2023 NWSL regular season continues on Friday, Sept. 15 as Racing Louisville hosts Houston Dash. North Carolina Courage will travel away to face Orlando Pride. Sunday, Sept. 17. The playoff push is on with just four weeks remaining in the regular season. The 2023 NWSL Shield is still up for grabs, awarded to the winningest team in the league, and the 2023 NWSL Championship final will take place on Nov. 11 in San Diego, California.
North Carolina are the 2023 Challenge Cup champions! The team left little doubt on who would walk away with the rewards, with goals from Kerolin and Manaka. Back-to-back Cup titles for the Courage as they get back to the regular season and now chase the 2023 NWSL Shield and a postseason position.
77' Borges gets contact on DeMelos services and forces a save by Murphy. A successive corner attempt is ended again by Murphy for any chance of a threat.
76' Emily Fox snuffs out some danger as Kgatlana remains active in front of goal. The clearance is out for a corner kick and DeMelo is over the ball at the corner. Is this for chaos?
54' Courage keeps the pressure cranked up and Boade breaks the line on a run and sends a ball through to Manaka. The 19-year-old one-times the reception and connects on goal with a chip for a spectacular moment. She's now the youngest player to ever score in the Challenge Cup final.
North Carolina are back it and building up play through the left side. Have found plenty of space to exploit and getting inside the box for looks on goal.
Thembi Kgatlana is trying to nab an equalizer ahead of halftime, making herself a target inbetween the channels looking for goal and trying to find teammates. Has provided Louisville with a spell of momentum heading into halftime.
A challenge between Kurtz and DeMelo leaves the Racing midfielder down on the pitch for an extended period of time. She's getting a look at by the traininer and Kurtz earns a yellow for the tackle.
36' Louisville trying to play out off North Carolina Courage's pressure, and DeMelo quickly tries to transition with a ball through to Kgatlana. Murphy comes off her line to snudd out the danger by Kgatlana and the its the best offensive look Racing have had this half.
28' Narumi plays an outrageous deep ball beyond the halfway mark to a darting Kerolin. The Brazilian international has been active on the wing today and makes quick work of the one-v-one opportunity in front of her. She shoots on an angle near the end line and the slots the ball near post past Lund.
North Carolina came out blazing from the delay. Have had complete control of the ball and active in Racing's half. Have connected more passes and earned four corners already. Lots of good combinations between Manaka and Kerolin.
17' Kerolin sends in a ball on a dime and the shot from Manaka is on target and forces Lund to make a touch and her fingertips send the ball off the post and out for a corner. It's been all Courage since the return of the game.
The game has resumed at the 12th minute mark. Make sure to tune in!
Due to an extensive weather delay, the remainder of the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup Final will stream live on the CBS Sports Golazo Network and at CBSSports.com/livestream. CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all the top soccer competitions worldwide. You can stream for free on the CBS Sports app, Pluto TV and Paramount+.
The Cup final will restart at 3:08 p.m. ET. The game was initially suspended in the 11th minute and will resume from that point. The two sides will play to 90 minutes of full regulation and if tied at fulltime, the final will go directly to penalty kicks. Please tune into the updated info below to view the final:
Viewing info
Date: Saturday, Sept. 9
Time: 3:08 p.m. ET
Place: WakeMed Soccer Park -- Cary, North Carolina
Stream: CBSSports.com
We're approaching a half hour in a weather delay during the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup. The game was initially suspended due to lightning in the area. It does look like the lighting has cleared up but there is still rain. Though not a downpour, it's still impacting the restart of the match.
The game is now in a delay before the 15 minute mark. Game suspensions for lightning delays require a minimum 30 minute delay per lightning strike. Lighting watch starts now and we will provide updates when they become available.
6' Kerolin gets played through behind Louisville's backline and she had a one v one opportunity inside the six yard box to put the Courage ahead. Lund comes up with a massive save to snuff the danger.
Commissioner Jessica Berman held a press conference ahead of the Challenge Cup final. She touched on the state of the league at the moment and other milestones the NWSL is celebrating, like increased attendance.
The league set a new record for in-game attendance across the league in 2023. Last season the league celebrated the 1,000,000 turnstile mark, but have broken the record with 1,060,978 with four games remaining on the schedule. The new record includes a record 11 regular season games with more than 20,000 fans in attendance, up from the four games in 2022.
Here's who is lining up for Racing Louisville!
Racing Louisville FC Staring Lineup: Lund; Holloway, Erceg, Lester, Milliet; DeMelo, Pikkujämsä, Borges, Monaghan, Davis. Kgatlana,
Looks like no changes for head coach Kim Bjorkegren, the same lineup that got it done against OL Reign is back for the final.
Here's who is lining up for Racing Louisville!
Here's who is lining up for North Carolina!
NC Courage Starting Lineup: Murphy; Kurtz, Berkley, Williams, Fox; O'Sullivan, Narumi, Kerolin, Hopkins, Boade
Looks like one adjustment for head coach Sean Nahas, starting Haley Hopkins in place of Tyler Lussi for the lone player rotation from the semifinal.
Kaleigh Kurtz on the Courage being back in the final with new players:
"We're gonna have a lot of people with that veteran leadership to kind of manage the emotions especially prior to the game. But in terms of what it means, everyone's super competitive, everyone wants to win, and everyone just wants to come out of the game healthy and hopefully as champions. So we're just going to do everything that we can to get the job done tomorrow."
The NWSL Challenge Cup Best XI features six players competing in today's final. Two players from North Carolina (Brittany Ratcliff, Malia Berkley) and four from Racing Louisville FC (Savannah DeMelo, Abby Erceg, Katie Lund, Jaelin Howell)
Savannah DeMelo on Racing getting results against top table competition this season:
"I think we're a team now that knows how to win games. I think in the past we've kind of grinded out the game, so we've always kind of let up a goal which obviously led us to not win. But I think in the past, or in these last couple games, we really found ways to win -- which is huge, and it just shows how much we've grown as a team."
We're about an hour from kickoff, so let's have some fun with a little prediction:
The two sides have faced each other twice in the regular season and the Courage won the season series by one goal margin. Expect a similar result as the two teams battle for the Cup and prize money. Pick: North Carolina Courage 2, Racing Louisville FC 1.
Racing Louisville has an opportunity to earn its first-ever NWSL trophy on Saturday. Head coach Kim Bjorkegren has his roster within striking distance of an upset after two narrow regular season losses against North Carolina this season. They lead in reputation on the NWSL Challenge Cup Best XI with four players, including centerback Abby Erceg.
She will be a key figure on the backline for the team as she was just at this stage a year ago with her former club North Carolina. The defensive league veteran Erceg featured in five group matches and recorded two blocks with seven interceptions, and has the ability to be a massive target on corner kicks.
"Obviously you just want to win again, no matter who you're playing against. I'd love to have that for Racing. We've just done so well. We had a really tough schedule coming in. So, it would just be really nice if we won and obviously be nice to me to get that from them [Courage] as well."
Head coach Sean Nahas and his squad return to the Challenge Cup final for a second time and even with some new names in the mix, the club is in a good position to win back-to-back Cup titles.
The team has bought into their possession style of play and has two players named to the Challenge Cup Best XI in forward Brittany Ratcliff and defender Malia Berkley. The center back will be essential in shutting down any attacking threats by Louisville.
She started in five Challenge Cup group matches for the Courage, where she recorded three blocks and three interceptions. Her ability to lean into challenges makes her a threat in ball retention and she won six tackles over the group stage.
"She's my center back partner and she's been absolutely killing it," said Kaleigh Kurtz ahead of the final. "The game for us really changed when she came back there and was a steadfast partner and she's solid, she's smart, she's deceptive. Tenacious. So, I only know she's going to keep growing as a player and a footballer, and I'm excited to be around alongside her for that."
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The annual competition has gone through different variations over the last three editions, moving from a stand-alone tournament in 2020 to a scheduled competition between preseason and the regular season. The Challenge Cup will now take place throughout the regular season, with 12 clubs divided into three groups playing double round-robin matches.
North Carolina Courage and Racing Louisville FC had different paths to the final. The Courage were East Region winners. The group went down to the wire, and the team needed to await a final result between NJ/NY Gotham FC and Orlando Pride before being named top-seed of the East. Racing Louisville FC had a strong showing in the Central Region, but finished as the highest-rated second-place team.
North Carolina Courage and Racing Louisville FC will square off for the 2023 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup final. The Cup is the first of three NWSL titles up for grabs this season This year's tournament features the largest prize pool in league history with $1.1 million on the line as a sizeable portion goes toward the winners and runners-up.
Check out the viewing info for today's game!
