USL W LEAGUE: NC Courage U23 advances to third straight national title game with win over Asheville City SC
- Dan Stickradt
- Jul 13
- 2 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — North Carolina Courage U23 clinched a spot in the USL W League national finals with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Asheville City SC on Saturday evening at Greenwood Field.
It marks the third straight year that the side has advanced to the national finals. The Courage lost to the Indy Eleven in 2023 (2-1) and last year came back to win their first championship in a win over the Colorado Storm (3-2).
The Cougars will face the League’s top offensive team, Utah United (12-1-0), in the national finals of the USL W League Tournament on July 19 in Utah.
The Courage struck first through forward Olivia Thomas, who converted a low cross in the 14th minute to give the visitors an early advantage. Asheville City responded just before halftime, with midfielder Lily Craven curling in a free kick to level the score at 1-1.
The decisive moment came in the 73rd minute when NC Courage’s Emma Brown found space at the top of the box and rifled a right-footed shot past the Asheville keeper for what proved to be the match-winner.
With the win, NC Courage U23 improves to 13-0-2 and can finish off an unbeaten season and second national championship on the road next Saturday. The Courage own a 39-14 scoring edge this season with six shutouts, a 0.94 goals-against-average and 2.6 goals-per-game offensively.
Asheville City SC – backed by a passionate home crowd – pushed for an equalizer in the final minutes but was unable to break through the Courage back line.
Asheville City SC finished its best season with a 13-1-1 overall record. The side did post a .867 win percentage, a 0.74 goals-against-average and 2.40 goals-per-game which aided the road to the Final Four.
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