Cary, N.C. — The North Carolina Courage opens a new chapter as expansion team Bay FC comes to WakeMed Soccer Park for the first time this Friday, September 13, for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff.

The force is strong in the Triangle as the club celebrates Star Wars Night with guest appearances, themed music and entertainment, great food and drink specials, including specialty cocktails and $5 select beers, and more. Courage legend Jessica McDonald will be in FanFest signing autographs beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET while the Courage’s five Olympians will be celebrated on the field post-match in a make-up for the rained-out ceremony on September 1.

North Carolina is unbeaten in 18 straight home fixtures, dating back to April last year. The streak is a club record and the second-longest home unbeaten stretch in league history, trailing only Seattle’s 22-match run across the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

The Courage comes off an emphatic road win over San Diego Wave FC, 1-4, spoiling Alex Morgan’s farewell for a fourth win in the last five to improve to 10-1-8 on the season for 31 points to rank fifth in the standings after 19 matches. Malia Berkely made history last Sunday, becoming the first NWSL player to record three assists in a single half. She also matched Debinha as the only two Courage players with three assists in a match.

The Courage offense is starting to take shape and is coming from a variety of sources. Haley Hopkins, Feli Rauch, Bianca St-Georges, and Meredith Speck all scored last weekend. It was the fourth time in six matches with multiple goals for the Courage after scoring multiple times just twice this season before this stretch.

The team continues to utilize possession and value the ball, extending its streak to 49 consecutive regular season matches with the possessional majority. Overall, since Sean Nahas became head coach, the team has held over 50% of the ball in 65 of his 68 fixtures.

Bay FC (8-0-11) is a league newcomer looking to embrace the possession-oriented tactical style of North Carolina. After a slow start, they’ve come on strong with three wins in their last five to catapult into seventh place in the standings with 24 points. Riding back-to-back wins, including a shocking victory in Portland, this Bay side is full of confidence and has proven unphased by intimidating atmospheres.

Loaded with talent along the front line ahead of a familiar face, Tess Boade, in the 10, the Bay FC attack has gelled nicely and should make for a tough test for the stingy North Carolina defense.

With a great crowd expected, tons of fun surrounding the pitch, and a great matchup between the lines, Friday Night Football should be a blast as the Courage take one more step towards the playoff push.

Source: wralsportsfan.com