— Only thrice has the U.S. Women’s National Team staged a friendly match on the then-home ground of an NWSL team since the league launched in 2013. Two of those occasions were at a Sahlen’s Stadium—the first was September 2014 in Rochester, NY, home of the erstwhile Western New York Flash. The other was Sunday at WakeMed Soccer Park, where the North Carolina Courage, the Flash’s NWSL successor, played their debut season this year.

Four Courage players featured for the USWNT during Sunday’s international friendly against South Korea, and they turned Sahlen’s Stadium in Cary back into their club playground. A first-half brace by Sam Mewis paced the USWNT attack, on its way to a 6-0 drubbing of South Korea.

The U.S. started the scoring fireworks in the 3rd minute, when Mewis headed in a corner kick from Abby Dahlkemper, a Courage connection that put the US ahead 1-0. Mewis used her boot to earn a brace in the 20th minute, when she stuck back a punch-out by South Korea goalkeeper Kang Gaae.

“I feel like North Carolina is one of my homes,” Mewis said. “I love being here, and I love playing in front of these fans. I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to play, and scoring a couple of goals was icing on the cake.”

“Sam [Mewis] is someone I see frequently with the Courage in a leadership position,” Ellis said. “They lean on her heavily on the field, you can see she’s part of the pulse of that team. That’s awesome to be able to bring that into our environment. So now it’s my job to nurture and encourage that.”

Alex Morgan fed Christen Press making a direct run in the 35th minute, and Press’s nifty strike found the postage stamp for the 3-0 lead. The final first-half score came just prior to intermission, when Lindsay Horan headed a Dahlkemper corner ahead to Julie Ertz positioned near post, who nodded in the fourth goal as the halftime whistle blew.

Lynn Williams completed a Courage hat trick in the 61st minute, when a South Korea giveaway in the backfield was gathered by Megan Rapinoe, who drove and drew the keeper before laying off to Williams, who calmly finished in the open goal.

The Portland Thorns, who defeated North Carolina last weekend for the NWSL championship, crashed the Courage party in the 84th minute, when Horan laid off to Thorns teammate Allie Long, who slotted in her shot to account for the final 6-0 scoreline.

When the USWNT came to Cary in August 2014, it felt like a traveling all-star road show, an one-off event that came and went with equal rapidity. This year was the culmination of a Triangle pro soccer revival that began in January with the the arrival of the Courage. In 2014, the press focus was on such notable names as Abby Wambach, Hope Solo, and Heather O’Reilly. At Saturday’s media access, four of the five players interviewed were members of the NC Courage—no requests were extended for such popular usual suspects as Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Carli Lloyd.

“This is a knowledgable place for soccer,” said USWNT manager Jill Ellis in advance of Sunday’s friendly. “The fans love to come out to support teams. And we have an amazing pitch out here. So on that level, it’s an ideal scenario for us. We’re going to have a great atmosphere here. So, it’s a great venue to come to, and we love coming here … And I’m going to have some barbeque.”

Part of the USWNT’s heightened NWSL recognition is a combination of happenstance and design. Ellis repeatedly referenced NWSL performance when commenting on Courage and other player call-ups in the 14 months since the US was ousted in the quarterfinals of the Rio Olympics. It was both coincidental and telling that all six goals and all but one of the five assists Sunday came from players representing each of this year’s four NWSL playoff teams.

“[The NWSL] is the platform,” Ellis said. “I think the big push from our federation is establishing a platform so players like Casey Short and Lynn Williams have somewhere to play and be identified … It’s a professional environment, in terms of they’re getting competitive matches. I don’t know the statistics, but I’d say most of the call-ups have been because of their performances in the league.”

Seven members of the Courage, née Flash, have been invited into national team camp over the past 12 months. Ellis has clearly kept tabs on the team and its NWSL success.

“Coming out the Olympics, my commitment for this season in the NWSL was to deepen our roster,” Ellis said. “I started at the tail end of last year, bringing in Abby [Dahlkemper] and obviously Lynn [Williams]. What [the Courage players] have shown with their club team has merited [their call-ups].

“I think Paul [Riley, NC Courage manager] has done a really good job,” Ellis continued. “When he took over the Flash, he invested in youth—this is one of the younger teams, I’d say, in the league. They benefited from being together last year and made a great run, and now this year. There are a lot of young, talented players in the league. Where we were as a team in transition, I was willing and actively looking to see what the future is going to look like, because the World Cup is two years from now … I knew a lot of those [Courage] players at UCLA, so I have a good familiarity in terms of their quality. So, I think it’s a combination of the environment they’re in with what they bring to the table.”

That extends to McCall Zerboni, the 30-year-old Courage midfielder who was recently named to the 2017 NWSL Best XI, along with Mewis and Dahlkemper. It was a standout season for Zerboni, who Riley has touted for national team attention all year. Zerboni received her first USWNT call-up Friday from Ellis, who coached Zerboni for four years at UCLA. Zerboni came on at halftime of Sunday’s friendly, earning her first cap for the USWNT.

“McCall is someone who has been in the conversation for me for quite some time,” Ellis said. “I have a lot of history with McCall, and she’s had a tremendous year. She’s one of the most important pieces, in terms of her team, in the [NWSL]. We’ve been fairly crowded in the midfield, so it’s been uber-competitive in there. I wanted to bring in a smaller group for these two games [versus South Korea], but the opportunity presented itself to add an additional player. So it just made sense. Part of it is, yes, she’s here, so she isn’t traveling six time zones to get here. But that aside, I think she’s been one of the best players in the [NWSL] this year and deserves to be in this environment.”

Zerboni says she views this call-up as an opportunity, not merely a long-suffering career recognition.

“It’s all still surreal,” Zerboni said. “But football is football. It’s still 90 minutes, 120 by 75. It’s the same thing I’ve been doing since I was five years old. So no matter what’s on my jersey, I’m still hoping to put out the best performance I can. But obviously, slipping this one is a great honor, and wearing the red, white, and blue is something no one can ever express in emotions.”

While Zerboni appeared to take all the hoopla in stride, her Courage teammates on the national team exuded excitement. Indeed, notwithstanding her two goals Sunday, Mewis said her personal highlight of the match was seeing Zerboni get called into camp and ultimately take the field.

“I was so happy,” Mewis said. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, McCall’s coming!’ I was really excited for her. I immediately texted her. I’m so proud of her, and I think she really deserves this.”

“She’s worked so hard her entire career, and so for her to get this opportunity is amazing,” Williams said. “She’s like the mother role at the Courage, so being back here is comforting, but having McCall here is even more comforting.”

Sunday’s match against South Korea is the USWNT’s seventh game in Cary, and the announced attendance of 9,727 is just shy of the 9,992 who saw the 2014 friendly against Switzerland.

“I was certainly energized by this fantastic crowd,” Ellis said after Sunday’s match. “I love this place, man. The crowd is always close to you, it feels great. I think our players benefit from that.”

For the Courage players, Sunday represents a fitting coda to a successful year at a new home, in front of new fans.

“Coming here has been great for so many players,” Mewis said. “The atmosphere we created at training, what Paul taught us, the way we were treated by the club has been absolutely fabulous … So, I’m really proud of the club, I’m happy that we’re getting some players into the national team, and hopefully that can continue.”

“When I was walking into the stadium,” Williams said, “I just felt like, not relief, but like, wow, this is so amazing to bring soccer back to Cary.”

BOX SCORE

LINEUPS

USA: Harris (Campbell, 46’), Sauerbrunn (Zerboni, 46’), Dahlkemper, Huerta, Short (Lloyd, 64’), Ertz, Horan, Mewis (Long, 46’), Press (Rapinoe, 46’), Morgan (Dunn, 46’), L. Williams

KOR: Kang (Kim Minjung, 68’), Park (Lee Eunmi, 46’), Cho, Jang Seulgi, Kim (Yoo, 63’), Lee Mina, Jeon (Moon, 56’), Ji, Han (Son, 52’), Jang Chang (Lee Sodam, 46’), Lee Geummin

GOALS

USA: Mewis, 3’ (Dahlkemper); Mewis, 20’; Press, 35’ (Morgan); Ertz, 45’ (Horan); Williams, 61’ (Rapinoe); Long, 84’ (Horan)

KOR: ---

CAUTIONS

USA: Williams, 68’

KOR: ---

EJECTIONS

USA: ---

KOR: ---

ATTENDANCE: 9,727