I'm Not One to Say 'I Told You So, But...'

There was plenty of talk before the 2023 NWSL season started about the North Carolina Courage—much of it less than flattering.

No one will argue that the club was in rebuild mode after the 2022 season, and not many folks disagreed about where that situation would land them in the standings. I mean, hey, somebody has to finish last, right?

After watching the Courage play a spirited game against Rayadas during their pre-season trip to México, I came to a different conclusion than most of the people who get paid to prognosticate on such matters.

Where did I predict them to finish? HAHAHA, I’m no dummy! Soccer is weird, and if you look at the current standings, you’ll find that there are only 11 points separating the top and bottom of the table. Anything can—and probably will—happen over the final five or six weeks of the regular season.

So, while I’m not one to predict standings in February or March, I did have some observations (bold type added):

I also noted early on that they would surprise a lot of people this year.

So…has the season lived up to my expectations so far?

Met and exceeded. Two points away from the top of the table, and on Wednesday, they play the Kansas City Current in the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup semi-final game (to refresh some memories, North Carolina is the defending Challenge Cup champions).

And Kerolin? She looks so much less burdened this year that she’s playing with joy and freedom that, at times, is absolutely breathtaking to watch.

Head coach Sean Nahas has commented that the team was a bit ahead of where the coaching staff thought they would be at this point. As for the players? It seems like they are focused on improving and growing individually and as a team, which doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for what outsiders think.

It’s been a privilege watching this team come together over the course of the last six or seven months. Their commitment to being competitive—players comment on how their training sessions are often more competitive and intense than games—and supportive of each other is one of the main ingredients of their success.

This team is showing that a competitive culture doesn’t have to be toxic. That you can fight with your teammate for a spot in the starting XI without viewing them as a threat.

And that the best way to show your coaches, teammates, and the rest of the league that you deserve to play regular minutes is to hit the ground running when your number is called.

Obviously, losing six players to the Women’s World Cup is going to be tough for any club, especially one that skews as young as the Courage. But North Carolina didn’t seem to miss a beat. While the players who got into the lineup were more than happy for the opportunity, they also wanted to show their teammates camped out in Australia and New Zealand that they were ready to hold it down in Cary.

As it turns out, the supportive culture the players created for themselves extends to their opponents as well.

Of course, things haven’t always gone according to plan, and there have been some games where they never quite got the engine to crank over. But that’s to be expected, and the key is to keep believing in the system in order to manage those wobbles.

Will the Courage add more hardware to the trophy cabinet in 2023? Maybe. I certainly wouldn’t count them out. Whether they do or don’t, they’ve put an incredibly entertaining product on the field (most recently, another wild match with Gotham that ended in a 3-3 draw).

Just like I told y’all they would.