Hello Courage Country!
We did it! We made it through the offseason, and are heading into the glorious, unpredictable zaniness of another NWSL season. A new coach, a reformulated team, and two expansion sides await us. It’s all very exciting.
But first, the Courage must conquer a familiar foe: Racing Louisville. We’ll break down that match below. By next week, we’ll be in standard newsletter mode, bringing you updates week over week until the June break.
ARE YOU READY TO ROAR? (That’s a thing we all say, right?)
Look ahead: Courage v. Racing Louisville
Racing Louisville historically has served as a spoiler team for the league, frustrating opponents regardless of their position on the table. They frequently use the word “chaos” as a team identity. And until last year, Racing consistently finished 9th place in the league.
In 2025, they looked on track to do the same, then somehow broke the curse, with coach Bev Yanez taking the squad to the playoffs, only to be immediately eliminated. It was a spot the Courage should have held with a bit more organized attacking last season, which was heartbreaking to witness.
Louisville made some early season adjustments last year after a rocky start, and plan to build on that success heading into 2026. They’ve added quite a bit of depth, largely from a strong college recruiting effort. To help with the attack, they brought over Bay FC’s Rachel Hill.
In terms of what we might expect from a starting XI, Goalkeeper Katie Atkinson (née Lund) left for Chicago, making Jordyn Bloomer the clear starter in the back.
Courtney Peterson, Arin Wright and Lauren Milliet anchor the defense.
Their midfield can be a tough wall to break through, especially star Taylor Flint. Flint is consistently one of the highest-rated players in the league in her position, earning the top rating from FotMob last year.
At the front, the team boasts superstar Emma Sears, who’s been having an excellent run with the US Women’s National Team. She scored 10 goals for Louisville last season, and is the clear target for the Courage to contain.
Louisville usually ends up being a good benchmarking team for the Courage. The season is long, of course, but if you’re looking for an early signal, a Courage victory here might indicate whether the team belongs in the top half of this year’s table. Louisville is consistently mid … but also made the playoffs last year.
As another test, while the Courage pride themselves on being a possession-based team, Louisville tends to take the opposite approach. Rather than focus on possession, Racing players have a knack for holding up the ball in play, and then taking quick, opportunistic advantage of opponents. Last season, Racing was last in the league in terms of possession, but won the most possession battles in the final third, according to FotMob.
Typically, Louisville shows a straightforward 4-3-3 formation, or a 4-1-4-1 (they showed both last year against the Courage). In either case, it speaks to the above strategy.
Louisville also historically isn’t a high-scoring team, finishing the 2025 season with a -3 goal differential. They also had the most shots taken of any team in the league, per NWSL stats (CHAOS!). If the Courage can start with some energy, break through the midfield and score early, it might be tough for Racing to recover.
And a final fun fact: starting this season, Louisville has two new mascots, inspired by Muhammad Ali: Float and Sting. Float will support Racing, while Sting will support Louisville City FC.
Courage news and updates
- The Courage acquired outstanding Japanese defender Uno Shiragaki, who can play on either side of the pitch as an outside back. I suspect early on she’ll work in on rotation, but expect her to make her case for a starting position.
- Former NC Courage Academy defender Ivy Younce, who practiced with the team preseason as a non-roster invitee, was given a short-term contract to play with the team through June. It’s a player who’s generated a lot of buzz in the youth league, so it’s exciting to see the team invest in her.
- The Courage announced expanded team staff under new head coach Mak Lind, another positive sign of investment in the club.
Around the league and beyond
- Melanie Anzidei at The Athletic did some great previews of the two new expansion sides. Subscription is required for these.
- Denver Summit FC (includes a quote from former Courage defender Kaleigh Kurtz)
- Boston Legacy FC (includes extensive quotes from former Courage keeper Casey Murphy)
Nearly all the national outlets have added preseason summaries of the 16 NWSL teams. I have to be honest, I didn’t find any this year that I particularly liked, and I’m usually not overly critical of these efforts to feed the #content beast. We have to do it, too! But this year, coverage felt thin all around, and several outlets were particularly unfair to the Courage. Partly that was relying on rehashing old 2025 storylines, and partly I think national outlets have a bias toward American players, especially USWNT players. Teams that sign them get more buzz, teams like the Courage who have brought in other international talent tend to be ranked lower, or discussed in a more off-hand way. Manaka would like to have a word.
With that, hopefully we’re meeting your preseason needs 😂
Did you see any coverage you particularly enjoyed?
Otherwise, that’s it for this week! As always, you can get in touch with tips, suggestions, corrections and more: contact@lionspitch.com.
Next match: Saturday, March 14, 7:00 pm ET
North Carolina Courage v. Racing Louisville
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