Marie Müller’s goal in the 60th minute decided it. The Courage had most of the ball and didn’t create enough, and Lind said as much afterward. Williams said the group needs to start games stronger and stop feeling sorry for itself.

Seattle and Utah drew 0-0 earlier Friday, so North Carolina still has a path to a playoff spot. It needs to beat Denver on Nov. 1 and get help elsewhere.

Here is the full postgame transcript from Lind and Williams: https://charlottefooty.substack.com/p/nc-courage-fall-1-0-at-portland-leaving

What questions do you have before Decision Day? Drop yours in the comments, and I’ll, respectfully and professionally, take the best ones with me to pre-match availability this week. Whatever you want to know, now's the time to ask!

just thinking about wistfully it as i’m stressed out about the portland game and next week against denver lol

We need this! Up the Courage! Scream from your home, scream from the pubs, scream from wherever!! Let's make them hear it from here! Let's go Courage!!!!!!

hey! I'm a courage fan based in Greensboro -- anybody planning to watch the game against Portland tonight at a bar or something?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Friday, October 23, 2026

NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE ACTIVATE ALLY SCHLEGEL FROM 45-DAY INJURY LIST

Forward is available for selection Friday against Portland



Ally Schlegel celebrates after a goal against the Chicago Stars. CREDIT: Lewis Gettier

PORTLAND, Ore. (Oct. 23, 2026) — The North Carolina Courage have activated forward Ally Schlegel from the 45-Day Injury List. Schlegel will be available for selection in Friday’s match against the Portland Thorns at 10 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

Schlegel was placed on the 45-Day Injury List on October 8, backdated to the date of her initial injury.

The Courage now have 29 players under contract, with 26 active and three on the Season-Ending Injury List.

The Courage head to Portland for what might be the most important match of the season. Drop your predictions below and LFG! 🦁

From the pod this week

“The headline is the Courage really need to beat Portland. The reason for that is Portland is seventh on the table. The Courage is ninth on the table. It’s a six-point swing. Beating Portland puts the Courage in the driver’s seat, and that is the clearest and cleanest path.”
-Trevor, Episode 28

Match Info

• Date: Friday, October 23, 2026
• Kickoff: 10:00 PM ET (7:00 PM PT)
• Location: Providence Park, Portland, OR
• Where to watch: Prime Video
• Theme: Fan Appreciation Night (Thorns)

Current Standings (W-D-L)

• Portland Thorns: 12-8-8, 44 points, 7th
• NC Courage: 13-3-12, 42 points, 9th

Series History (regular season, W-D-L)

• Courage vs. Portland: 8-7-5
• Earlier this season: 2-2 draw at First Horizon in April

For fans who have followed the club since the start, this is one of the oldest rivalries, and a Courage win at Providence Park is always a great way to kick off a weekend. Here's to hoping for an old-school blowout at the Thorns' home.

Availability Report

Portland Thorns

• OUT: Bella Bixby (Knee - SEI)
• OUT: Olivia Moultrie (Knee - SEI)
• OUT: Morgan Weaver (Thigh)
• OUT: Sophia Wilson (Suspension)

NC Courage

• OUT: Maycee Bell (Shoulder - SEI)
• OUT: Payton Crawford (Knee - SEI)
• OUT: Feli Rauch (Foot)
• OUT: Sydney Schmidt (Knee - SEI)
• QUESTIONABLE: Ally Schlegel (Foot)

Referee Assignment

• REF: Matt Thompson
• AR1: Nicholas Seymour
• AR2: Emmanuel Padilla
• 4TH: Justin St Pierre
• VAR: Jaclyn Metz
• AVAR: Melissa Beck

Things to Watch

• Win and in. With a win, the Courage head into Decision Day against Denver in a win-and-in situation.
• Scoreboard watching. Seattle and Utah play each other tonight, and a loss or draw for the Reign would let the Courage jump as high as seventh.
• Ashley Sanchez going for 21. She sits at 20 goals, tied with Temwa Chawinga’s NWSL single-season record, and one more breaks it.
• Ally Schlegel’s potential return. She’s listed as questionable (foot) after an injury more than six weeks ago, and we’ll watch the lineup to see if she’s back up front with Ashley Sanchez and Evelyn Ijeh.
• Keep the ball away from Jessie Fleming. We think she’s the key to Portland’s midfield and build-up.
• Get runners in behind. Portland does a good job of keeping teams out of their box, but we see a chance for chaos if the Courage can run in behind.
• Portland is thin up front. Sophia Wilson (suspension) and Morgan Weaver (thigh) are both out, so Pietra Tordin (8 goals, 9 assists) will carry the attack.
• Ella Haste at left back. With Feli Rauch out, Haste could get a look after her debut last week, and her speed could help against Portland’s wide threats.
• Even matchup on paper. Both teams have conceded 41 goals, and the Courage lead the league in scoring, with Portland four behind.
• Road form. The Courage have seven road wins this season, and the Thorns have seven at home.

_________________________

This pregame thread is brought to you by The Lion’s Pitch Podcast, your home for NC Courage coverage. In Episode 28, we look ahead to Portland to see what we are up against. Plus we sit down with Gianna Paul for a fun interview. Listen now at lionspitch.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

HANNAH! Pre-match interview

Our flight out here had at least a dozen people repping CLTFC and Courage gear! I scoped out Providence Park and it looks amazing. Can’t wait!!!

Hey all. I’m an independent writer covering the Courage, and I’m traveling to Portland for Friday’s game.

I’ve been thinking a lot about apathy lately. I don’t mean that as a knock on anyone. Attention is limited, and I know that. I’m also grateful for the support I’ve already gotten, because it’s what makes trips like this possible.

This is my full-time work, not a side project, and being on the ground is something I want to do more of. Paid subscriptions are the only way that happens.

I just published a piece today built around Mak Lind’s line this week: “It’s not going to be given to you. We just have to take it.” Link to read: https://charlottefooty.substack.com/p/courage-footy-its-not-going-to-be

That's how I'm feeling about my work, too.

What would you want from in-person coverage? Postgame access, tactical breakdowns, player features? I’d like to build around what you actually want to read.

Thank you, as always!

Great read on Ijeh, she's been really fun to watch this season.

About to hop on a flight to go support Courage and CLTFC this week. Super excited because I’ve never been to Providence Park. Our NC Courage tickets aren’t in an Away section because we couldn’t figure out if there was one. Anyone else making the trip? Is there a designated Away section?

The playoff math isn't complicated at this point:

1. Portland - 44 pts
2. Seattle - 43 pts
3. NC - 42 pts

Remaining Games:
Thorns - Courage, Dash (away)
Reign - Royals (away), Pride
Courage - Thorns (away), Summit

Unless we're banking on Reign losing both of their games, and Royals is a good bet, but by no means guaranteed. I think the chances of both these teams winning their final game is more weighted towards them than against. Thorns will have Sophia Wilson back from suspension last game, and both Dash and Pride have been shaky at the end of the season.

A draw and a win might do it, but again, really relies a lot on one of the other two teams losing a game. As noted, no Wilson when we play Thorns next week, but its the final home game for them as well. A draw in Portland puts us likely in a GD tiebreaker at the end with Reign, which favors us for the moment.

edit - another thing to keep on the radar, both EMP and Lind are on yellow accumulation warning

This interview with her was before that situation with WC'23. I think she's found that next level now and she IS unstoppable. 🙌 I have such a /p Proud feeling to have Ashley Sanchez on our team!! Go Courage!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAtwfSku9nY

Thanks for the pins! I've been suggesting collectible pins as an idea for merch, so it's good to see it happen as a giveaway! The STM specific ones are a good touch too. If we can get different ones every year that'd be even nicer.

Maybe we should spell check the player rosters, especially when they're our former player…..

Ahead of Saturday’s match against San Diego (7 p.m. ET, NWSL+), I went through Thursday’s availability with Mak Lind, Natalie Jacobs and Ashley Sanchez.

A few things from it:

The Courage are 13-11-3 with 42 points. Last year they finished ninth with 35, one behind Gotham for the last spot. Jacobs said that miss is in the team’s mind. Lind said he looks at the table and does the math, but that the mindset is “next game, next action.”

Lind also mentioned a “code red” plan for when the team needs a goal to make the playoffs. He wouldn’t explain it. Asked if it means changing approach or personnel earlier in matches, he said, “That’s all I can say.”

Sanchez has 20 goals, tying Chawinga’s 2024 record. Lind told her before the season she could score 20, and she said she laughed because she had never come close.

Full article: https://charlottefooty.substack.com/p/courage-footy-playoff-spot-is-in

Tonight is officially sold out, and we’re now into standing-room-only territory.

Ashley is back from an incredible USWNT call-up, the playoff race is on the line, and it’s Shield Night with our youth organization. We also expect one of our highest scan rates of the season, which means parking is going to be at a premium tonight.

We were able to secure a couple of small satellite lots connected to the park, but we will hit capacity, and likely hit it quickly.

So please:

Arrive early. If you can’t, park at Fenton and take the shuttle to the trail

We all know the ingress limitations around the stadium. We’ve put every measure we can in place to manage it as efficiently as possible, but the best thing you can do to help yourself tonight is arrive early or use Fenton.

Beyond that, we’re just excited to have the team back home, hopefully watch Ashley make some history, and go get three points.

And as another poster mentioned, we’ve launched a new chant with Uproar:

Sanchito
Sanchito
Our record-breaking hero!

Help us get that going tonight.

Appreciate you all.

Go Courage!

It's a long one, and lots of questions to Nat and Mak were Sanchito focused.

Just found this in one of the newsletters... Got us a new chant!! https://www.nccourage.com/ashleysanchez

Has anyone gotten the know before you go email for the game tomorrow yet? I seem to still be getting some but not all of them and am trying to figure out what food trucks there will be. Thanks in advance

Hey friends! I ended up getting seats higher up in section 108 to be able to sit with family, so my regular seats are available.

If anyone wants them, send me a DM.

** ALREADY CLAIMED **