North Carolina Courage 2–1 Boston Legacy FC, NWSL Matchday 18

North Carolina Courage v Boston Legacy FC

North Carolina Courage6th 33 pts

A. Sanchez 10′, 90+17′ pen

2

2–1

Full time

Sat 22 Aug

Expected goals: North Carolina Courage 1.97, Boston Legacy FC 0.96

Boston Legacy FC14th 20 pts

A. Traoré 90+2′

1

Sat 22 Aug, 7:30 pm EDT First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park NWSL 2026, Matchday 18

The match story

Ashley Sanchez portrait — Courtesy North Carolina Courage

NWSL News

Ashley Sanchez returns as a scorer, and a link for others

Sanchez’s Courage season has brought more frequent shooting. Her return against Spain also showed the value of moving the ball on.

17 October 2026

Key moments

10′Goal A. Sanchez (North Carolina Courage)1–0
90+2′Goal A. Traoré (Boston Legacy FC)1–1
90+17′Penalty goal A. Sanchez (North Carolina Courage)2–1

Top performers

North Carolina Courage

A. SanchezFNCshirt 22G8SH
E. IjehFNCshirt 100G2SH
E. ParkinsonMNCshirt 190G2SH

Boston Legacy

A. TraoréBOSshirt 14, came off the bench1G2SH
Amanda GutierresFBOSshirt 90G2SH
S. SmithMBOSshirt 80G2SH

Three per club, chosen from the match record: goals, then shots.

What it means

North Carolina Courage

6th▲1 from 7th

In the playoff places, 7 points above Houston Dash, with ten to play.

Boston Legacy FC

14thNo change

Outside the playoff places, 8 points behind Seattle Reign FC in the last playoff place, with nine to play.

Season series

Matchday 6 Wed 29 Apr

Boston Legacy FC2

North Carolina Courage2

Matchday 18 Sat 22 Aug

North Carolina Courage2

Boston Legacy FC1

North Carolina Courage won one, one drawn; 4–3 on aggregate to North Carolina Courage.

Team stats

NC BOS

Expected goals: North Carolina Courage: 1.97; Boston Legacy FC: 0.96
Possession: North Carolina Courage: 50%; Boston Legacy FC: 50%
Shots: North Carolina Courage: 16; Boston Legacy FC: 8
Corners: North Carolina Courage: 8; Boston Legacy FC: 2

NWSL table 2026

Standings →

NWSL table
#	Club	P	GD	Pts
1	Gotham FC	20	+13	43
2	Washington Spirit	20	+12	37
3	Utah Royals FC	21	+10	36
4	San Diego Wave FC	21	+6	36
5	Portland Thorns FC	20	+5	34
6	North Carolina Courage	20	+6	33
7	Kansas City Current	21	+3	31
8	Seattle Reign FC	20	−1	28
⋯
14	Boston Legacy FC	21	−10	20

After this result

By the numbers

North Carolina Courage have 6 points from last 5, in step with their season. 1.2 a match, against 1.5 all season. NWSL average 1.4.

Boston Legacy FC have 53 goals conceded, the 14th fewest in the NWSL. 1.8 a match. NWSL average 1.4.

The match on the pitch

North Carolina Courage: 50% possession; 96 possessions; 16% ended in a shot; 36% reached the box; 5.9 actions each
Boston Legacy FC: 50% possession; 96 possessions; 6% ended in a shot; 18% reached the box; 5.9 actions each

Where each team won the ball

North Carolina Courage

Boston Legacy FC

Where each possession began, both teams attacking right. North Carolina Courage started 11% of their possessions in the final third, Boston Legacy FC 7%.

Where the shots came from

North Carolina CourageBoston Legacy FC

North Carolina Courage attack right, Boston Legacy FC left. A larger ringed dot is a goal. Own goals are not shots.

How each team moved the ball

North Carolina Courage

Boston Legacy FC

Passes between 20 zones, both teams attacking right. Forward moves in the team colour, backward moves dark, sideways moves pale; line weight is the share of the team’s passes.

How long possessions ran

North Carolina CourageBoston Legacy FC

Share of possessions by number of actions.

Longer possessions shot more

North Carolina CourageBoston Legacy FC

Of the possessions with each number of actions, the share that produced a shot. A gap marks too few possessions to rate.

Where play slowed down

North Carolina CourageBoston Legacy FC

Mean seconds between one action and the next in the same possession, by where the action happened.

Every recorded action

Observed match events

Every action recorded in this match, where it happened: what was seen on the pitch, not a simulated path. 1,827 events in the record.

Period Minute 108 Only the 5 minutes up to it

North Carolina Courage attack right, Boston Legacy FC left. Passes are arrows to where they ended, dashed when not completed; a ringed start is a restart. A dot is a shot, a larger ringed dot a goal; a diamond is a take-on, a square a keeper action. Showing the whole match.

Choose an action on the pitch or in the list to see everything recorded about it.

79 events shown.

Events shown, in recorded order
Time	Player	Team
1:27	A. Schlegel	North Carolina Courage
3:19	A. Sanchez	North Carolina Courage
3:32	Amanda Gutierres	Boston Legacy FC
6:19	B. Olivieri	Boston Legacy FC
6:41	C. Murphy	Boston Legacy FC
7:02	A. Sanchez	North Carolina Courage
9:36	A. Sanchez	North Carolina Courage
12:27	Alba Caño	Boston Legacy FC
12:33	S. Smith	Boston Legacy FC
13:50	A. Sanchez	North Carolina Courage
15:13	Amanda Gutierres	Boston Legacy FC
15:21	Amanda Gutierres	Boston Legacy FC
16:08	K. Sheridan	North Carolina Courage
16:20	N. Prince	Boston Legacy FC
16:21	N. Prince	Boston Legacy FC
21:20	A. Karich	Boston Legacy FC
22:03	L. Thompson	North Carolina Courage
24:04	C. Murphy	Boston Legacy FC
24:58	L. Thompson	North Carolina Courage
25:42	F. Rauch	North Carolina Courage

Page 1 of 4

Lineups

North Carolina CourageFormation 4-3-3

North Carolina Courage, 4-3-3, each line from right to left. Goalkeeper: 1 K. Sheridan. Line 1: 13 R. Williams, 12 N. Staude, 25 M. Bell, 11 F. Rauch. Line 2: 14 C. Wickenheiser, 20 S. Koyama, 19 E. Parkinson. Line 3: 35 A. Schlegel, 10 E. Ijeh, 2 A. Sanchez.

North Carolina Courage lineup: 11 starters, then 3 substitutes who came on, then the team, with minutes, goals, assists and expected goals for this match
#	Player	Min	G
1	K. Sheridan	90	0
13	R. Williams	90	0
11	F. Rauch	90	0
20	S. Koyama	90	0
12	N. Staude	90	0
25	M. Bell	90	0
14	C. Wickenheiser, off at 68′	68	0
19	E. Parkinson	90	0
10	E. Ijeh	90	0
35	A. Schlegel, off at 20′	20	0
2	A. Sanchez	90	2
Substitutes
7	L. Thompson, on at 20′, off at 68′	48	0
8	C. Okafor, on at 68′	22	0
26	V. Bøe Risa, on at 68′	22	0
Team			2

Unused: M. White, C. Brooks, O. Wingate, D. Weatherholt, U. Shiragaki, H. Betfort

All player stats

North Carolina Courage lineup: 10 outfield starters, then 9 substitutes, then the team, with every figure for this match
#	Player	Min	G	Sh	CC	Pass %	Tkl	Int
13	R. Williams	90	0	0	1	84%	1	0
11	F. Rauch	90	0	1	2	81%	0	0
20	S. Koyama	90	0	0	0	72%	1	0
12	N. Staude	90	0	0	1	85%	3	1
25	M. Bell	90	0	0	0	91%	0	0
14	C. Wickenheiser, off at 68′	68	0	0	1	89%	0	1
19	E. Parkinson	90	0	2	1	71%	5	0
10	E. Ijeh	90	0	2	1	53%	0	0
35	A. Schlegel, off at 20′	20	0	1	0	67%	0	0
2	A. Sanchez	90	2	8	2	63%	0	0
Substitutes
99	M. White	–
5	C. Brooks	–
7	L. Thompson, on at 20′, off at 68′	48	0	1	0	78%	1	0
8	C. Okafor, on at 68′	22	0	1	1	89%	2	0
9	O. Wingate	–
17	D. Weatherholt	–
18	U. Shiragaki	–
26	V. Bøe Risa, on at 68′	22	0	0	0	85%	0	0
33	H. Betfort	–
Team			2	16	11	80%	13	2

North Carolina Courage goalkeeper
#	Goalkeeper	Min	Saves	SOT faced	Save %	GA	Claims
1	K. Sheridan	90	2	3	67%	1	1

Boston Legacy FCFormation 4-1-4-1

Boston Legacy FC, 4-1-4-1, each line from right to left. Goalkeeper: 1 C. Murphy. Line 1: 53 B. St-Georges, 29 D. Davis, 4 E. Elgin, 2 L. Reale. Line 2: 6 A. Karich. Line 3: 12 N. Prince, 26 A. Caño, 21 B. Olivieri, 8 S. Smith. Line 4: 9 A. Gutierres.

Boston Legacy FC lineup: 11 starters, then 5 substitutes who came on, then the team, with minutes, goals, assists and expected goals for this match
#	Player	Min	G
1	C. Murphy	90	0
53	B. St-Georges	90	0
2	L. Reale, off at 74′	74	0
6	A. Karich	90	0
29	D. Davis	90	0
4	E. Elgin, off at 46′	45	0
12	N. Prince	90	0
26	A. Caño	90	0
9	A. Gutierres, off at 63′	63	0
21	B. Olivieri, off at 46′	45	0
8	S. Smith, off at 73′	73	0
Substitutes
20	N. Hernández, on at 74′	16	0
16	J. Carabalí, on at 46′	45	0
14	Aïssata, on at 63′	27	1
10	E. Stevens, on at 73′	17	0
5	J. Hasbo, on at 46′	45	0
Team			1

Unused: L. Ivory, L. Ansbrow, A. Gambone, A. Allen

All player stats

Boston Legacy FC lineup: 10 outfield starters, then 9 substitutes, then the team, with every figure for this match
#	Player	Min	G	Sh	CC	Pass %	Tkl	Int
53	B. St-Georges	90	0	0	1	81%	3	0
2	L. Reale, off at 74′	74	0	0	0	76%	1	2
6	A. Karich	90	0	0	2	76%	1	3
29	D. Davis	90	0	0	1	97%	0	0
4	E. Elgin, off at 46′	45	0	0	0	86%	0	0
12	N. Prince	90	0	0	0	82%	0	0
26	A. Caño	90	0	1	1	78%	2	3
9	A. Gutierres, off at 63′	63	0	2	0	67%	1	1
21	B. Olivieri, off at 46′	45	0	0	0	71%	0	0
8	S. Smith, off at 73′	73	0	2	0	83%	0	0
Substitutes
18	L. Ivory	–
34	L. Ansbrow	–
20	N. Hernández, on at 74′	16	0	0	0	86%	0	1
16	J. Carabalí, on at 46′	45	0	0	0	87%	0	0
15	A. Gambone	–
14	Aïssata, on at 63′	27	1	2	0	67%	0	0
10	E. Stevens, on at 73′	17	0	0	1	25%	0	0
7	A. Allen	–
5	J. Hasbo, on at 46′	45	0	1	0	80%	1	0
Team			1	8	6	81%	9	10