SportsWednesday, November 4
The Courage beat Denver 1-0 in Cary but missed the playoffs by two points
The 5AM Apex team
If you follow the Courage, here's how Sunday ended. The North Carolina Courage beat the Denver Summit 1-0 in Cary when Denver's Kaleigh Kurtz scored an own goal in stoppage time. Seattle also beat Orlando 1-0, which kept the Courage out of the playoffs for the second season in a row.
10,803fans at the Courage finale, the second highest total in team history
The Courage also had five sold-out games this season.
Forward Ashley Sanchez finished with 20 goals and the 2026 NWSL Golden Boot, tying the league's single-season scoring record. A first-half goal that would have broken it was called back for offside.
“Honestly, we did our job and that was not why we didn't make the playoff, it was earlier this season.”
- Final: Courage 1, Denver Summit 0
- Seattle's win over Orlando took the eighth and final playoff spot
- The Courage finished ninth, two points short
- Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan made four saves
Sanchez tied the NWSL scoring record, and the Courage missed out by two points
- 20 goals
- for Sanchez, tying the NWSL single-season record
- 700th save
- of Sheridan's career, a third-keeper milestone in the NWSL
- 2 points
- separated the Courage from the playoffs
Sources: N.C. State University Technician Online, WRAL
Sources: N.C. State University Technician Online, WRAL