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NJ/NY Gotham FC will visit the North Carolina Courage, marking their third and final stop in their run of three straight matches away from home. The first was a disappointing, to say the least, 3-0 loss to Denver Summit FC, marking the 2026 expansion side's second win over the defending champs this season, something only one other expansion side had ever done previously. They then followed that with a bounce-back victory over Racing Louisville FC by a score of 2-1.
Last week's win, combined with the Washington Spirit's surprise 3-0 loss at home to Boston Legacy FC, means Gotham FC's lead at the top of the table is back up to five points. There is a scenario where the Bats could become the first team to clinch a playoff spot, albeit with a little bit of help. A Gotham win combined with a victory from San Diego Wave FC, as well as a Denver draw and an Angel City FC win, or a Denver win and an Angel City win or draw, will secure a playoff spot. That is a lot that needs to go their way, which makes clinching during next week's round of games much more likely.
At the same time, North Carolina will want a home win to climb back up the table into a top-four spot. The team has been pretty hit or miss at home this season with a 6-1-5 record, good enough for just the seventh-best home record. Their recent matches have seen losses to fellow top-four contenders San Diego and the Kansas City Current, with a big win over Chicago Stars FC.
Still, a Gotham win would not only be good from a points and standings perspective, but it would also be a real statement win. A win on the road against a very good Courage team, who are also the top goal-scoring team in 2026, would be in contention for their best win of the season. And with the way both sides are playing, these two could meet once again in the later rounds of the playoffs. Here is a preview of Saturday's match.
Gotham FC vs North Carolina Courage preview
Date
The game will take place on Saturday, September 19.
Time
The fixture is scheduled to begin at 6:30 PM ET.
Location
The match will be played at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.
How to watch
The game will be broadcast on ION.
Weather
Temperatures will be in the low 80s to begin the game before dropping down to the mid-70s by the end. Humidity will jump from 60% at the start to 75% by the end of the match. The chance of rain never goes above 15%, and the cloud cover will also hover around 50% throughout the match. Sunset is scheduled for 7:16 PM, which should fall around the end of the first half.
Injury report
Sofia Cook (lower leg), Kayla Duran (knee - SEI), Shelby Hogan (illness), and Emily Sonnett (knee - SEI) will miss the battle in North Carolina.
Players to watch
The player to watch is Jaedyn Shaw. She has probably been Gotham's best and most consistent attacker this season. She has already set a new career high for goal contributions and is coming off a game where she had a goal and an assist. In a lot of matches, it has felt like where Shaw goes, Gotham goes, and that will probably be the case for the rest of the season.
The easy answer for who to watch on North Carolina is Ashley Sanchez. The current Golden Boot leader and MVP frontrunner has 19 goals so far this season, one less than she's had in NWSL play in the rest of her career combined. One more goal would see her tie Temwa Chawinga's single-season NWSL record from 2024. With eight goals in her last five matches, Sanchez is in perfect form, and keeping her off the scoresheet will be key for Gotham if they want to come away with three points.
Prediction
A 2-2 draw is the prediction, with Gotham FC's goals coming from Shaw and Rose Lavelle and the Courage goals coming from Sanchez and Evelyn Ijeh, who is having a great season of her own. With the way that North Carolina plays, this could be one of the more open games of the NJ/NY side's season. And despite their inability to really kick on in attack for most games, they have the players to go toe-to-toe in a shootout of a game with North Carolina.
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