The North Carolina Courage clinched a home playoff game with their 1–0 win over the Houston Dash last weekend. You’re going to want to be there.

The ladies clinched the first spot in the NWSL playoffs two weeks ago and could’ve clinched host a semi-final last week against Chicago but lost on the road. Really, they just wanted to clinch at home.

The Courage have three games left in their inaugural regular season in the Triangle: on the road at Sky Blue FC on Sunday the 24th, away to face the Houston Dash again on Wednesday the 27th, and then finishing off the year at home against the Orlando Pride on Saturday the 30th of September.

There was lots of excitement surrounding the match last weekend. Playoff potential, Breast Cancer Awareness Night, even the Youth Junior girls were recognized on the field, who had their first match earlier in the week.

The game started off with a lot of shots from both sides. The Courage had several quality opportunities to score early on: McDonald and Williams teamed up in the 3rd minute for a cross, but it was defended away. Several crosses came to Williams on the night, but it just wasn’t her night.

It was however Kristen Hamilton’s night…

In the 26th minute, Jessica McDonald threw a ball deep into the box that went right off the head of Abby Erceg and landed at the feet of Hamilton who was able to flick the ball past the GK. 1–0 Courage.

The rest of the match would see a lot of shots from both sides. But goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland made several great saves to keep the clean sheet, and one goal was enough for the Courage to clinch that home playoff game.

Playoff scenarios

The Portland Thorns have clinched a playoff spot as well, and with their win on Sunday over Boston, they clinched at least the two-seed and will host the other of the semi-final matches. The final three matches for NCC and the final two matches for Portland will decide who wins the regular season crown and that #1 overall seed.

With a game and two points already in hand, the Courage play 6th place, 8th place, and 4th place. The Thorns play the 4th-place and 3rd-place teams. The Shield is clearly NCC’s to lose.

Chicago could’ve clinched a playoff spot with a win over FC Kansas City last Saturday but the end result was a 0–0 draw. They sit tied with Orlando Pride on 36 points and in 3rd/4th place in NWSL.

In a crazy game last Thursday, Seattle Reign FC stayed alive in the playoff hunt after earning 1 point against Orlando. Seattle currently sits five points behind the Pride in fifth. Both clubs have two games remaining in their seasons. Seattle’s last two matches are against FC Kansas City at home and Washington Spirit away. The Reign will need to win both of these games and will need Orlando to lose their last two as well. That’s a tough road.

But the Orlando Pride currently have the hardest schedule remaining with a home match against Portland and an away match against the Courage in Cary. Two losses there aren’t out of the question. Orlando could ruin Portland’s chances of winning the Shield on Saturday the 23rd, so that’s something that will be on Portland's mind. Should be a good match.

With a win over either Portland or North Carolina, the Pride could clinch their playoff spot. Chicago plays 8th-place Houston on the road and then travels to Portland for their regular season finale. Their spot looks more assured, but nothing is guaranteed. Lose both of those, and Seattle could sneak past Chicago as well.

Eliminations

The other five teams are all eliminated from the 2017 NWSL Playoffs. Washington and Boston have been eliminated for awhile, as both have less than half the points of NCC and Portland.

With their loss to the Courage this past weekend, the Houston Dash were knocked out. FC Kansas City was eliminated too after their draw with Chicago last Saturday. Sky Blue FC sits in sixth, but they are now seven points out of the top four with a maximum of six points available.

The Playoffs

The October 8th semi-final will be on Sunday the 8th at WakeMed at 3:30pm. For those unable to make it out (what’s your excuse??), the game will be on Lifetime TV. Obviously the opponent is TBD, but if we had to put money on it, expect another match against rival Orlando Pride.

With this weekend off due to a FIFA international break, the Courage will play their final three games in just seven days time to finish off their regular season. As we said, next up is Sky Blue FC on Sunday the 24th. Win that one, and the Shield is as good as theirs.

Thanks for reading. For more information on the final few weeks of the NWSL season and the 2017 NWSL playoffs, keep up with us here at Soccer ‘n’ Sweet Tea and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Good luck to the Courage next week!