— On Wednesday, the National Women’s Soccer League announced that WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary will host its 2019 championship final on Sunday, Oct. 27.

This is the first NWSL Championship held at a non-Major League Soccer stadium since the league began playing its finale at a predetermined site in 2015. The last four NWSL Championship finals were played in Houston, Orlando and twice in Portland, OR.

"We're excited to be hosting the NWSL Championship," said NC Courage owner Steve Malik. "Of course, we expect to be playing in it. We've shown an ability to host high-level soccer events. We're a market that the NWSL is happy be in and to work with us on building the game here, and Cary is a great venue for this event."

The Triangle has never hosted a professional women’s soccer league championship. The previous iteration of the Carolina Courage in the erstwhile Women’s United Soccer League won the 2002 Founder’s Cup, a match played in Atlanta.

In 2018, the NWSL playoffs semifinal match between the North Carolina Courage and Chicago Red Stars was supposed to be played at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. The Courage earned their hosting rights by virtue of their league-topping regular season record. However, the inopportune arrival of Hurricane Florence led the league to relocate the Cary semifinal to Portland, where the Courage ultimately won their semifinal and final matches to claim the 2018 NWSL Championship. As a result, the Courage and Steve Malik, the team’s owner, had to forego sizable ticket revenues already collected for the nearly sold-out semifinals game.

It remains to be seen whether the Courage will earn the opportunity to play on its home ground for a third consecutive NWSL Championship final. The Courage currently sit fourth in the NWSL standings, although seven starting players currently competing in the FIFA Women’s World Cup will be back with the team by mid-July.

It will be a busy six months at WakeMed Soccer Park. Beyond the remainder of regular and possibly postseason play for both the Courage and North Carolina FC, the Cary complex will also host the Women’s International Champions Cup in mid-August, the NWSL Championship in late October, the ACC Men’s and Women’s soccer championships in November and the NCAA Men’s College Cup in mid-December.