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Can the Courage become the second team to win back-to-back titles?

By Jordan Small

PISCATAWAY, NJ - MAY 19: North Carolina Courage midfielder McCall Zerboni (7) during the first half of the National Womens Soccer League game between the North Carolina Courage and Sky Blue FC on May 19, 2018, at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ - MAY 19: North Carolina Courage midfielder McCall Zerboni (7) during the first half of the National Womens Soccer League game between the North Carolina Courage and Sky Blue FC on May 19, 2018, at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Last season, North Carolina won the NWSL Championship in convincing fashion. Can they win it back-to-back in a World Cup year?

The 2018 season went just about as well as anyone in the North Carolina Courage organization could have asked for. They lost just once all season and set an NWSL record for points. But 2019 will be a new test for a franchise largely made up of international players who will be gone for a portion of the season for the World Cup.

It might be a rough go of it for a little bit for the Courage as they could have eight to 10 players out with their national teams. However, the reigning champs are built tough and do have a number of good players who aren’t going to France this summer.

One place the Courage got stronger in the offseason was in net. After Sabrina D’Angelo left to go play in Europe, North Carolina signed Stephanie Labbe. The Canadian international played in Washington until 2017. She didn’t play in the NWSL in 2018 but will most likely be the starter for the Courage when she is not away with her national team.

At the back, the Courage are returning all four starters that made up the best defense in league history last season. In 2018, the Courage allowed just 0.7 goals per game and recorded 13 clean sheets in 24 games. The biggest question on defense for North Carolina is who will fill in for the center-back pairing of Abby Dahlkemper and Abby Erceg.

In the midfield, there are a lot of moving parts as well. If both Sam Mewis and McCall Zerboni make the U.S. roster, it will be interesting to see who Paul Riley puts in the middle of the park. Denise O’Sullivan seems to be the most likely to slide into the middle with Ireland not making the World Cup this year. While O’Sullivan struggled to find a place in Houston, she’s thrived since coming to North Carolina. This might be a good time for her to shine. Also, keep an eye on what Heather O’Reilly’s role will be during the World Cup as she has been named part of Fox’s broadcast crew for France.

The front line is probably the most interesting area of the team. While it appears Lynn Williams is on the outside looking in when it comes to the U.S. roster, Crystal Dunn is very much in the team and Jessica McDonald is doing everything she can to stay on the roster. Even if it’s just Dunn and McDonald representing the U.S. in France, it still leaves slim pickings for Paul Riley up front. It will be interesting to see if this impacts formations at all. Williams will end up taking the brunt of production for the Courage at least in the first half of the season.

For the Courage, it all comes down to how well they do while their national team players are out. It’s just hard to believe they’ll drop out of the playoffs based off a month or two of missing players. They probably won’t reach the points total they did last season, but expect to see the Courage in the playoffs in 2019.

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