Durham Reporter

The North Carolina Courage are set to face the Kansas City Current in the NWSL playoff quarterfinals on Saturday, November 9, at 12 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+. Fans can join a watch party hosted by the Courage at the Downtown Raleigh Carolina Ale House, with doors opening at 11 a.m. ET.

This marks the first NWSL playoff meeting between the Courage and Current, although they have met in knockout games three times since 2022. The Courage previously defeated the Current twice in Challenge Cup semifinals during their consecutive wins in 2022 and 2023. However, Kansas City won their encounter in this year's NWSLxLiga MX Femenil Summer Cup semifinals with a score of 2-0.

In their regular season encounters this year, each team won at home. Notably, Cortnee Vine scored an equalizer and Brianna Pinto netted a stoppage-time winner for the Courage in their September match against Kansas City.

Kansas City's Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski has a record of 3-8-1 against the Courage across all competitions. In contrast, Sean Nahas, head coach of the Courage, holds a record of 4-5-0 against Kansas City teams.

The Current's offense has been led by Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga, breaking an NWSL scoring record with 57 goals this season. Meanwhile, Debinha contributed significantly with three goals and six assists. The Courage defense ranked third least in goals conceded this season and boasts strong playoff defensive stats with four clean sheets and a +9 goal differential.

Goalkeeper Casey Murphy is expected to play a crucial role for the Courage. She ranks second in NWSL playoff saves with 28 from just three games. Her notable performances include making a record-breaking 13 saves against Washington in the playoffs.

Historically, the North Carolina Courage have a playoff record of 5-3-0. Their losses came against eventual champions: Portland Thorns (2017), Washington (2021), and Gotham (2023). They secured titles in both years they reached beyond quarterfinals—2018 and 2019.

Denise O’Sullivan leads her team as captain with most appearances and minutes played in playoffs for the club. Kaleigh Kurtz and Casey Murphy are other key players who have started multiple playoff games for the team.