Previously: the coaching & tactics situation

In today’s post, we’ll dive into what the numbers say about nearly every player on the Courage roster.

How did they perform in 2025? Were there any interesting trends from the prior year? What does that performance mean about where they will be in 2026?

Let’s find out.

Credits & stat info #

Stats used in these articles come from Opta via FBRef and from American Soccer Analysis.

Charts come from ASA’s VizHub, courtesy Catalina Bush.

Learn more about these stats (click to expand)

Stats used in this series of posts include:

• Expected goals (xG): how likely a shot is, based on where and how it was taken, to be a goal. A “good” shot is 0.15 or higher.
• Post-shot expected goals (PSxG): how likely a shot is to be a goal based on where it went on frame. This isn’t as predictive as xG for shooters, but is used to determine the quality of the shots goalkeepers faced, and whether they saved more than expected. Usually reported as PSxG±/90: goals allowed minus PSxG, normalized to be per game.
• Expected assisted goals (xAG): the amount of xG that came from a players passes.
• g+: A measure of how much an action (passing, receiving passes, interrupting possession, dribbling, etc) increased or decreased the chances of scoring a goal.

For most stats, see this FBRef explainer. To learn more about g+, read American Soccer Analysis.

Goalkeeping #

Marisa Jordan #

After a year plus as the undisputed backup and summer tournament fill-in, Marisa Jordan was elevated to the starting role after Casey Murphy’s fade in form. Jordan started five straight games, and while she improved on Murphy’s shot stopping, her small sample size still ended below average.

Her post-shot expected goals saved per 90 was -0.03. Per FBref, that was 17th of 19 goalkeepers with 4 or more games played, ahead of only Murphy and Katie Lund. By American Soccer Analysis’ shot stopping, she was better, but only marginally at 14th.

Her distribution out of the back was not up to Murphy’s standard, and it changed how the Courage played. While Murphy would play shorter on goal kicks and come further out to sweep and act as an outlet, Jordan stayed deeper and played goal kicks longer.

Keeper	Launch %	Long pass completion %	Avg goal kick length	Outside-box actions/90
Jordan	19.0%	38.5% (on 91 passes)	44.1 yds	0.40
Murphy	14.7%	50.0% (on 204 passes)	28.4 yds	1.25

Her metrics at American Soccer Analysis backed this up; she was fourth worst in passing value, and her sweeping value was the lowest in the league.

This was Jordan’s first real playing time since graduating Purdue in 2022; with more time as a starter, she can build both skills and confidence. But it’s definitely a risk to have her as the unquestioned #1 with no experienced backup.

2026 expectations: Jordan will be with the Courage in 2026, but whether as the starter or as a backup is still to be determined.

Katie Cappalletti #

Cappalletti was a non-roster invitee and training player after finishing at St Joseph’s. She signed a one-year contract to be the third keeper on Hensley Hancuff’s midseason departure, but did not see any playing time.

2026 expectations: Assuming the Courage are happy with her progress in training, she is the most likely candidate to be signed for the third goalkeeper role.

Casey Murphy (free agent, off to Boston) #

We know the story; Murphy’s play suffered, she was benched, she returned for the final few games, and now she is set to sign with expansion franchise Boston Legacy.

2026 expectations: NC fans wish Murphy the best in Boston…. at least when she’s not playing the Courage.

Center back #

Natalie Jacobs #

In 2024, Natalie Jacobs was a quality center back for the Dash, winning her duels, and passing safely.

In 2025, she started off with the Dash by expanded her passing range. On September 12 2025, halfway through the season, the Courage swapped Malia Berkely and $75,000 to bring Jacobs to North Carolina. And once she acclimated, Jacobs fit like a glove.

The Courage utilized her long passing as part of their late season attack down the wings, to good success.

Looking at ASA’s metrics, her best defensive attributes were in blocks, clearances, and tackling, while she rated positive on interceptions and ball recoveries as well. Of the Courage centerbacks, she had the highest tackling value.

2026 expectations: Jacobs will be a nailed-on starter, expected to lead the defense. With both Berkely and Kurtz moving on, she will shoulder the passing load from the center backs.

Maycee Bell #

Maycee Bell joined the Courage in mid-2024, but did not play much before being sidelined with an injury. She started 2025 as the third center back, entered the starting lineup when Malia Berkely had an injury, and didn’t look back. She was a regular lineup fixture; even in games where Kurtz and Jacobs started, she would come in to help nail down a lead late. Her ability to track forwards was key in the Courage shutting down more direct lanes of attack.

Defensively, she rates highly in blocks and clearances, and slightly above average in tackling and ball recoveries.

She is less comfortable and less aggressive passing than the other NC center backs, but to her credit, she doesn’t try to force it.

2026 expectations: Bell will be a full-time starter.

Brooklyn Courtnall #

The Courage signed Courtnall before the season out of USC. After a few cameos with North Carolina, she was loaned to Bay FC at the end of August where she stepped directly into the starting lineup. She was good in the tackle, very busy with challenges, and not much of a passer.

Looking at her interrupting stats, most of her positive value was on ball recoveries and tackles; she was average in most other areas.

Bay were overall very bad defensively during Courtnall’s starts, allowing 11 goals in six games for an 0-2-4 record. The Courage’s new staff will have to determine how much of that was Courtnall and how much was Bay’s general problems.

2026 expectations: Courtnall returns to the Courage as center back depth.

Talia Staude #

Talia Staude spent late 2024 and early 2025 loaned to the Tampa Bay Sun where she played at center back and right back, and was fine.

On her return for North Carolina’s 2025 season, she started 6 straight games (and seven overall) early in the season, and again was OK, but not great. She took very few risks in passing, and was good at interrupting attacks.

Defensively, she provided positive value in every category except aerial duels. Tackling was her lowest value, which mirrors her time in USL.

Despite that start, Staude only saw 63 minutes of sub appearances for the rest of the season, as the Courage traded for Natalie Jacobs rather than using Staude to replace Malia Berkely.

2026 expectations: Expect Staude to remain as an option off the bench in 2026, although it’s likely Courtnall has passed her in the pecking order.

Charlotte McLean (free agent) #

McLean joined the Courage in 2024 in the same transfer that brought Cortnee Vine to North Carolina. She has zero league minutes logged for the Courage in a year and a half, and was loaned to Tampa Bay Sun in the USL for the rest of the year, where she has less than 200 minutes played.

2026 expectations: McLean won’t be back with the Courage.

Kaleigh Kurtz (free agent, off to Denver) #

Kaleigh Kurtz finished her fourth straight iron woman season, and has been remarkably consistent the past three years. She wins her challenges, provides passing value, and increased the range of her passing this season as the Courage moved away from Nahas-ball.

She was a defensive cornerstone and was the Courage’s secondary captain. So why did she move on? There are a few potential reasons.

• As noted the Courage struggled to defend set pieces… but that more likely explains swapping Berkely for Jacobs.

• We do know is that the Courage have two quality starters in Maycee Bell and Natalie Jacobs, and two backups-but-maybe-more in Brooklyn Courtnall and Talia Staude. It’s possible the team decided they had enough depth to let Kurtz go, especially at age 31.

• Kurtz is good friends with the traded Berkely, and she credits the now-signing-elsewhere Murphy as helping her through rough patches in her career. In the latest episode of The Lion’s Pitch, Trevor and Katie did say there was some smoke about her leaving, so this may have been in the works for a while.

Regardless, it does leave a hole. Among Courage center backs, she provided the most value in interceptions,ball recoveries, and blocks, ranking second to Bell in clearances, and second to Jacobs in tackling value. The Courage will be expecting Jacobs to continue her excellent play, and Bell to continue to improve.

2026 expectations: Courage fans wish our iron woman the best in Denver.

Outside back #

Feli Rauch #

Rauch struggled with injury, appearing in only 10 games, before having surgery at the end of the season. She was productive when she did play, as she traded dribbling (and turnovers) for more passing and assisting value.

She ranked fifth on the team in xG assisted, despite only playing 733 minutes.

2026 expectations: The Courage showed their confidence in her by re-signing the pending free agent to a two year extension. Rauch will step right back into the starting lineup in 2026.

Ryan Williams #

Ryan Williams did Ryan Williams things. New in 2025 was some time playing further up the field as a wingback when the Courage went to a back 3, as well as one game started as a winger. Possibly because of that, her passing, dribbling, and defensive value dropped slightly, while she had more end-product from an assisting and shooting perspective.

Despite continuing as a very productive part of the attack, there were a few defensive lapses this year, notably at Seattle where she not only had an own goal, but was beaten twice in the exact same way by Maddy Dahlien for a goal (one was called offside).

Overall, she still rated as one of the best fullbacks in the league; of players with 1500+ minutes, she ranked fifth by ASA’s g+ metric per game.

2026 expectations: Williams remains a fixture on the right.

Dani Weatherholt (free agent) #

Dani Weatherholt finishes her two-year Courage contract having spent one year as a versatile backup in many positions, and one year primarily at backup left back. She provided safe passing and ball retention, but was also beaten for pace by Emma Sears and Trinity Rodman in back to back late-season games where the Courage really needed a win. In their final must win game, the Courage played Natalie Jacobs at left back rather than Weatherholt.

Weatherholt’s position versatility is useful, but the glut of center backs and midfielders make it less likely she is needed depth there. It is probably better long term if the Courage get depth options who are actual fullbacks.

2026 expectations: Weatherholt signs elsewhere.

Sydney Schmidt #

Near the end of the season, the Courage announced that they had signed 17-year-old youth national team player Sydney Schmidt, a Florida State commit, to a three year contract.

She had two appearances (one start) as an academy player in the USL, from which there are not many conclusions to be drawn.

The timing of Schmidt’s signing was curious. Immediately after signing she went with the USWNT to the U-17 World Cup in Morocco, where she played 336 of 360 available minutes, finishing with an assist, three shots, and a converted shootout penalty.

She did not return to the team by season’s end, and as of now, still doesn’t even have an official number assigned. I suspect the price of convincing Schmidt to join was burning one year of the three year contract in just a couple of weeks. In any case, despite signing in 2025 it wasn’t a signing for 2025.

2026 expectations: Either learning on the bench, or learning in a USL loan. It’s possible she goes on a USL loan for the offseason as well.

Deep-lying midfield #

Denise O’Sullivan #

The Courage captain has been the rock the midfield has been built on for the past few years. In 2025, she took on a slightly new role. Previously O’Sullivan played the deepest while players such as Narumi pushed a little more forward from midfield. When partnered with Riley Jackson, it was a more even distribution. Oftentimes O’Sullivan drifted forward, approaching more of the role she plays with Ireland.

Because of this, O’Sullivan posted her highest passing value of recent memory. Unfortunately, she suffered a knee injury and missed two months of play, during which the Courage’s 2-3-3 record turned what could have been a playoff-clinching time into a very nervy playoff fight that they ended up not winning.

Unsurprisingly, she was the clear defensive stalwart in the Courage midfield, being the best at all of interceptions, blocks, tackles, and ball recoveries.

One NWSL GM even claimed O’Sullivan as the one NWSL player they’d build their team around, given a clean slate. That is both a testament to Sully’s quality, and possibly not the wisest decision to pick a 31-year old defensive mid as your cornerstone.

One thing to note: there is a trend with O’Sullivan’s numbers over the past three years as she adds to her 14,000+ NWSL minutes. Her defensive contributions, while still good, have begun to drop off the past two years.

Metric	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Interrupting g+/96	0.08	0.05	0.07	0.07	0.07
Def. actions won/96	15.99	14.33	14.26	13.73	12.91
Aerial duel win %	41.7%	43.1%	47.4%	39.0%	34.5%

Age comes for us all, and while the Courage got a taste of what playing without their captain might be like this year, the Courage will at some point soon need to plan for that for real.

2026 expectations: The captain returns to her usual position. Given the depth discovered with Jackson and Shinomi, it’s possible she gets the occasional non-injury rest.

Riley Jackson #

In last year’s roster review I noted an interesting trend in Riley Jackson’s stats in a small sample size:

Still, the fact that at an initial glance Jackson performed better than Narumi in many statistical categories is interesting. … [If] Narumi moves on, handing the secondary midfield keys to Jackson might maybe work.

Spoiler: it worked.

Riley Jackson went from a sub role to starting 23 of 25 matches (one missed due to injury), and merely became one of the best passing midfielders in the league, earning constant U-23 callups and buzz for the full national team.

But it’s not just passing. Her in-season progression is also remarkable.

In her first two games, she had six progressive passes per game, but didn’t do much elsewhere.

She had:

• One shot (admittedly, a very memorable goal)
• One tackle, two interceptions, one clearance, eleven ball recoveries, and one block total
• Dispossessed 2½ times per game

In her last three games (all full 90s), she also had six progressive passes per game. But on top of that she added:

• Four shots
• Ten tackles, three interceptions, nine clearances, 30 recoveries, and three blocks
• Dispossessed just once per game

There is still work to do. As Jackson herself will tell you, she wants to get even better at the defensive aspects of midfield. While she posted numbers similar to O’Sullivan in ball recoveries, and was the only Courage midfielder to be even average in aerial defense, she was merely OK in other categories. Given her improvement just over the past year, there’s no doubt that she can put in that work.

2026 expectations: The Courage exercised their club option on Jackson, so she will be starting in 2026. Presumably they are working on a long-term extension (if they are not THEY SHOULD BE).

Shinomi Koyama #

At the time, North Carolina’s signing of Shinomi was among the top 10 most expensive transfers in NWSL history, and in the top 30 all-time.

That may seem to be a lot, but given the escalation of transfers since then, and Shinomi’s performance on the field, it was money well spent.

Shinomi made 7 of her first 11 appearances as a substitute, easing into NWSL action. However, the injuries in the Courage midfield opened an opportunity for her, and she took it. She started 12 of the final 14 games, including moving into a deep-lying midfield role during Denise O’Sullivan’s injury.

She put up plus passing and assisting numbers, and shows a knack for showing up in the right place in the box to get off shots. While Courage fans will note her clutch goals so far, she’s actually underperforming her production (3G from 4.3 xG, 1 assist from 2.1 xAG), which is a good sign for the future.

On a pure rate perspective, her xG and xAG production is on the same tier as Ashley Sanchez’s (although more tilted towards shooting).

Filling in for O’Sullivan, a team defensive drop-off was noticeable (and expected). Defensively she was surprisingly good at tackling and clearances, but lagged behind in other defensive categories. Despite her deeper role in 2025, it may be that Shinomi’s long-term future is higher up the pitch.

2026 expectations: She’s only 20 – younger than Manaka – so we should expect improvement. If all of O’Sullivan, Jackson, Manaka, and Sanchez are healthy, Shinomi may be a victim of a numbers game, and will likely be the first midfielder off the bench in a sub role. If anyone goes down with an injury, she will step right in.

Attacking midfield #

Ashley Sanchez #

As Manaka exploded, the attempts to shoehorn all of Manaka, Jaedyn Shaw, and Ashley Sanchez onto the field became an issue. Sanchez saw herself shifted to the wing, her minutes declined, and then later on she missed a number of games with injury.

Compared to 2024, she had fewer touches, and therefore fewer progressive carries and passes. And yet, she was still very productive despite being less of a focus of the attack. She posted nearly identical xG (0.18 vs 0.17) and xA (0.20 vs 0.16) numbers. Her lower counting stats are just an effect of fewer minutes and a little bad finishing luck.

Lest you forget, she also produced the loudest moment at WakeMed Soccer Park of the season. She’ll be fine.

2026 expectations: Starting, either at attacking midfield (with Manaka forward) or at right wing (with Manaka central).

Oli Peña #

Late in the season, when the Courage were struggling with injuries in the midfield, they signed the former TCU midfielder to a contract. In her four seasons at TCU, she had 6 goals and 16 assists in 93 games, winning Big 12 Midfielder of the year in her final season.

TCU didn’t post a lot of college highlights of Peña, so I’ll take the highlights I actually can find on YouTube.

She did not appear in a match for the Courage.

2026 expectations: Peña remains as a bench option. If the Courage have a number of signings, she may be loaned or transferred out.

Victoria Pickett (free agent) #

Pickett was loaned to AFC Toronto of the Northern Super League before the 2025 season.

2026 expectations: She signs permanently in Canada.

Manaka (Yes, she has her own position group) #

Manaka Matsukubo #

To call back to the article on Jaedyn Shaw’s exit

In 2025 the Courage took a note from her dropping so deep. They experimented with pulling Manaka deeper, either onto an in-tucking left-wing, or directly into center midfield.

In 2025, her production has exploded. Over a five game period ending June 21st, Manaka had 4 goals and three assists, becoming the second youngest player, behind Trinity Rodman, to have goal contributions in five straight games.

Manaka’s level-up is the primary reason selling Jaedyn Shaw made at least some sense. She continued to terrorize defenses throughout the league, setting records along the way.

21-81 - At 21 years, 81 days old on Friday, @nccourage.com's Manaka Matsukubo became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in #NWSL history. Uncharted.

[image or embed]

— OptaJack (@optajack.optajoe.com) October 18, 2025 at 10:32 AM

She had the second most expected goal and assist production in the league, behind only Temwa Chawinga. Her per-game stats have her in the top 10; she has played a LOT of minutes compared to others who had both more help in their teams’ attacks and worse injury luck.

She split time 60/40 between forward and midfield, and her production can be viewed two ways.

Whether forward or midfield, Manaka plays the same - she drops to pick up the ball and link play, and ends up covering the whole field. Despite playing more than half of the time at forward, she had a higher percentage of touches in the defensive half than Ashley Sanchez.

If you’re worried about their being a lot of air in her numbers that might lead to regression, don’t. She had 11 goals and 4 assists… on 10.1 xG and 4.6 xAG.

If she stays what she is, she’s someone who receives MVP votes. Even so, her progressive passing and dribbling were net negative by g+. If she finds another level… dear god.

2026 expectations: First name on the team sheet. Exactly where on the field is TBD. Also, y’know, SIGN HER TO AN EXTENSION before she gets even more expensive (may be too late).

Wing #

Aline Gomes #

Aline Gomes joined the Courage in 2024, and in half a season showed some promise in getting good shots.

In her second year with North Carolina, I’m sure the coaching staff was looking to see Aline take a big step forward and lock down a regular starting spot. What they got was a slight improvement, but mostly a repeat of her first season in NC.

By the end of the season, Meredith Speck was starting and getting playing time ahead of her, and due to that and a brief injury, she finished with fewer minutes than in 2024, despite being here the whole season.

2026 expectations: Aline is still only 20. She remains in the rotation.

Payton Linnehan #

North Carolina acquired Payton Linnehan at the end of August. When speaking about the transfer, Courage GM Dr. Ceri Bowley talked about Linnehan’s willingness to make runs in behind, and that it was a skill that was missing at the time on the Courage. The Courage quickly integrated Linnehan, as she started 6 of the last 7 matches.

True to the GM’s word, Linnehan made those runs in behind. She did a good job turning this into shots for others, but her own shots lagged as she only had five shots in those six games.

Her dribbling, carries, and shots were all down from her production in Portland.

2026 expectations: Linnehan is somewhere between a rotation player and a regular starter, and the Courage hope her production continues to grow.

Tyler Lussi (free agent) #

Tyler Lussi had 1600+ minutes on the wing in 2024, providing OK production combined with a lot of defensive activity.

That versatility was called into action in 2025, as she was the first one called to cover for Feli Rauch’s injury, moving into both left back and left wingback roles (depending on formation). Her shot and shot quality production dipped expectedly with the move back.

As the year went on, the Courage moved to Weatherholt as the preferred cover option at left back, while Lussi returned to the wing rotation.

2026 expectations: While Lussi remains a useful rotation player, the Courage declining their side of her contract option is likely telling. She signs with another team.

Meredith Speck (free agent) #

Meredith Speck has never been the exciting new signing or the talked about player in preseason. And yet, her practice habits, tenacity, speed, and work rate gets her playing time.

By the end of the year, the Courage staff decided that they needed someone on the left to get onto the end of long balls, and they determined Speck was the best option. She ended up starting the final three games, and logged over twice as many minutes in 2025 as she did in 2024.

On a per-minute basis, Speck assisted the most shot production on the team, and had the highest receiving g+ of any NWSL winger not named Temwa Chawinga.

2026 expectations: While they likely shouldn’t focus on her as a key part of the attack for both age and opponent adjustment reasons, Speck is extremely well regarded by everyone in the organization. As long as she’s happy here, she may stick around on a short contract to round out rotations, provide depth, and provide veteran leadership.

Center forward #

Hannah Betfort #

In Utah in 2024, Hannah Betfort produced a decent number of good chances. The Courage signed the local product in free agency, with the hope that she could take her Utah performance, and improve on it for a better team in Carolina.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, as her production dipped across the board and she finished with only two goals. Her minutes dropped precipitously as the Courage rotated Manaka, Pinto, Vine, and Shaw through the striker role along with her. She ended up with half the playing time she had in Utah.

2026 expectations: Ideally Betfort 1) returns to her 2024 form 2) while being a backup to a first-choice striker (maybe Manaka, maybe an acquisition).

Cortnee Vine #

Last year Cortnee Vine was acquired midseason, but due to an injury she only appeared in four matches. After an offseason mental health break, she started the year as a bench option. Starting with the June 8th match at Washington, in an attempt to shake things up, the Courage switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Vine as the starting striker rather than her prior wing minutes.

The Courage won two of three, Vine had four shots for over 1.5 xG, and the Courage outchanced their opponents by over 1.5 xG per game.

For whatever reason, Vine only started one game at forward after that.

Those three games are 40% of her 500+ minutes, but contain 75% of her shot production and 80% of her key passes. Was that three game stretch a short-term fluke? Was there something the staff saw in practice that saw them abandon that tactical idea (and the 3-4-2-1 in general)? I don’t know, but it’s odd.

2026 expectations: Unclear. If the staff thinks she can recapture that magic, she’ll remain in the rotation, and could be a starter (assuming no signings). If they don’t, it’s possible the Courage move her on via transfer or loan.

Brianna Pinto (free agent) #

Brianna Pinto has rotated at striker for the past two years for the Courage. She uses her strength to hold off defenders and hold up play, and she arrives late for high quality chances.

The problem is simple: she doesn’t produce enough of those chances, whether due to her or the Courage’s system. The good thing is that her xG/90 ranked third on the Courage behind Manaka and the departed Jaedyn Shaw. The bad thing is that rate is still not even average for a forward.

At this point the Courage likely need to look for upgrades at forward rather than expecting Pinto to be their #1 or #2 striker.

Pinto was reasonably productive deeper in midfield in 2022 and 2023, and the Courage may be looking for defensive midfield depth. However, it’s notable that they never considered Pinto in the defensive midfield role this year, even when multiple midfielders were out injured.

2026 expectations: Pinto seeks more playing time than is offered in a reserve role in NC, and signs elsewhere.

Olivia Wingate (free agent) #

Wingate started the 2025 season on the 45-day injury list with a leg injury. She eventually moved to the season-ending injury list.

She was a very productive player when she was healthy in 2023 and 2024.

Unfortunately, that was rarely the case. Over three seasons with the Courage, she has under 800 minutes on the field total.

2026 expectations: Hopefully healthy, whether playing soccer or in a post-soccer career. But I’d be surprised to see the Courage relying on her as an option.

Heather MacNab (free agent) #

MacNab went from a trialist, to an injury replacement player, to being signed through the end of the year. She made a few short appearances as a sub.

2026 expectations: MacNab returns to a training player role, or moves on to another team.

Next #

The Courage are already moving on from Casey Murphy and Kaleigh Kurtz, and are likely moving on from many other of their free agents. They’ll need to fill out their roster with new signings. What positions, and what players, might they be looking to sign?

Coming in the next post: a number of signing targets, and what a Courage offseason might look like.