“The mentality that we have as a group is that we’re going to eat the elephant slowly but surely. We’re not going to eat the elephant in one gulp. We don’t talk about jumping to the end, we talk about what the process is to get there.” - NC Courage Manager Paul Riley

The saying goes that an elephant never forgets. But unlike Paul Riley’s metaphorical pachyderm above, that’s precisely what he and his North Carolina Courage have supposedly done with the memory of last October’s bruising loss to the Portland Thorns in the NWSL Championship.

“I haven’t even talked about it with the players,” Riley insists. “It’s so far from our discussions."

Five months following their title tilt, the Courage will host the Thorns this Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park to kick off the 2018 NWSL season. While the sting of their last clash — which saw two Courage players taken off with injuries in just the opening half — isn’t part of Riley’s repertoire, what remains integral to his locker room rap sessions are the steady stream of team-bonding affirmations and motivational mantras that Riley famously embraces. What may sound eccentric to outside ears is lapped up by his players, who look upon Riley as part father figure, part WoSo wizard.

“I know our tagline is #NoFinishLine, but that’s really what it is for us. I tell them all the time that every day’s important. It’s not about a championship or a win. If we lose to Portland, it doesn’t matter. They all have so much to do yet; they want to achieve so much. If this team stays together for three or four more years … whoa," Riley said.

The core of the “team” Riley references remains the draft class of 2015 taken by the Western New York Flash, the Courage’s forerunner: Abby Dahlkemper, Sam Mewis, Lynn Williams, Jaelene Hinkle, and Sabrina D’Angelo. Goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland, drafted by FC Kansas City in that same draft, was traded to Western New York in mid-2016 after Riley assumed the Flash’s managerial reigns. While the pieces around them (r)evolve, that unit has played in two consecutive NWSL championships, winning one, and earned the league’s Supporters Shield last year.

Still, as talent shifted around the rest of the NWSL, which goes from t10 teams to nine this year, the Courage could not afford to rest on any laurels. In January, the Courage acquired Crystal Dunn, who left the Washington Spirit last year to spend a sabbatical in England with Chelsea L.F.C. In return, the Courage sent Washington Ashley Hatch, the 2017 NWSL Rookie of the Year, and Taylor Smith, an undrafted member of that 2015 Flash class who played her way onto the U.S. Women’s National Team setup last year.

Dunn’s speedy style appears tailormade for Riley’s uptempo play. Moreover, the Courage have fashioned themselves into an incubator for national team hopefuls, with four regular members of last year’s roster emerging as regular USWNT call-ups. It could be the right environment for Dunn, a former University of North Carolina standout who saw roller coaster stints with the national team over the last year.

“The locker room is as good as I’ve ever seen it, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon,” Riley says. “Crystal Dunn has seamlessly moved in.”

As talent-laden as the Courage are, the 2018 campaign doesn’t arrive without some questions. Chief among them is the status of Sam Mewis, who sustained a knee injury last November during a USWNT friendly against Canada in Vancouver. Mewis hasn’t played since, and though she joins Courage camp this week, Riley doesn’t expect her to be ready to play for at least a month, if then, while she continues her recovery.

In the interim, Dunn expects to slide into the midfield spot alongside McCall Zerboni, making way for another of the abundance of attackers the Courage can feature up top. Indeed, shifting positions suits Riley’s penchant for experimentation, which he views as the byproduct of an improving squad.

“I think as a team evolves, it needs to get more sophisticated as it gets older,” Riley says. “I had to keep it very basic when I first met them. Now, I feel like we could play a box, we could play a diamond, we could play flat, we could play 4-3-3, we could play 3-5-2, we could play 3-4-3. They’ve evolved into this.”

What does “this” mean for 2018? More wins? New USWNT call-ups? Although Riley may claim he and his Courage charges don’t talk about championships, that’s certainly the elephant in the room.

“If we don’t win a championship, I do not care. You can write that—I do not care, Riley said. "What I do care about is that everybody walks out of here better than when they came in. And I feel if they do that and the process works, we’ll get results.”

Forwards

Notable returnees: Lynn Williams; Jessica McDonald; Kristen Hamilton

Notable additions: Crystal Dunn; Darian Jenkins; Frannie Crouse

Notable departures: Ashley Hatch

After missing all of 2017 recovering from a leg injury suffered during her senior season at UCLA, Darian Jenkins opened some eyes during preseason in the absence of national teamers competing for the SheBelieves Cup. Jenkins netted four goals over five scrimmages while displaying the calm, skillful play that Riley gushed over with anticipation last year.

That said, it’s telling of the Courage’s attacking depth that Jenkins may not initially crack the starting XI. Lynn Williams and Kristin Hamilton have established themselves as the presumptive starting forwards, followed by Jenkins and the ever-reliable Jessica McDonald. Of course, that changes if/when Mewis returns to the lineup, at which time Riley expects to slide Dunn into the forward position alongside Williams to form an even more potent forward duo.

First-round draft pick Frannie Crouse, late of Penn State, may spend most of her rookie season developing. Riley has been trying Crouse at right back during training camp as possible cover for Merritt Mathias. Indeed, Mathias and her predecessor Taylor Smith, like Crouse, began their playing careers as forwards.

Midfielders

Notable returnees: McCall Zerboni; Sam Mewis; Debinha; Denise O’Sullivan

Notable additions: None

Notable departures: Makenzy Doniak (season-long injury)

McCall Zerboni shows no signs of slowing down. To the contrary, she’s spent the preseason anchoring the midfield in the absence of Mewis while serving as a locker room leader for the team’s young draftees and trialists. Now, Zerboni will pair up with Dunn in midfield to start the season.

“She’s getting better,” Riley says. “Honest to God, I think she’s better than she was [last year]. She’s evolved so much over the last two years. When I look at the U.S. team, I think that’s who they need.”

Riley is equally effusive about the training camp form of Debinha and Denise O’Sullivan.

“Debinha is like a different player,” Riley says. “She’s learned to speak English fluently and she can hear me; we have a relationship now. Now she coexists with everyone. Last year, it was her and Rosana doing their thing. She’s been really good.”

O’Sullivan joined the Courage in late July and scored the game-winning goal in the playoff semifinals win over the Chicago Red Stars.

“O’Sullivan came in last year with only a month or two left [in the season] and missed a lot of things,” Riley continues. “Now, with her and Debinha together … I’ve never had two legit number 10s on a team who can play together.”

Defenders

Notable returnees: Abby Dahlkemper; Abby Erceg; Jaelene Hinkle; Elizabeth Eddy; Meredith Speck; Yuri Kawamura

Notable additions: Merritt Mathias; Allysha Chapman; Julie King; Kaleigh Kurtz

Notable departures: Taylor Smith; Samantha Witteman; Nora Holstad

Even though three-quarters of the back line remains intact, defense has seen the most offseason upheaval. Abby Dahlkemper, Abby Erceg, and Jaelene Hinkle will be joined at right back by Merritt Mathias, who the Courage acquired from the Seattle Reign. Riley is high on Mathias, who he coached as a member of the New York Fury in 2012. Today, he believes the fiery Mathias will show enough to merit national team attention.

“They haven’t really seen her yet—she’s legit,” Riley says. “The last time I had her [on my team] she was a forward. I don’t think people know what’s she capable of.”

Allysha Chapman, a Canadian allocated player, arrives via the Boston Breakers dispersal draft and provides bona fide depth at fullback. Kaleigh Kurtz, a preseason invitee who landed a roster spot, was a 2016 first-team All-American at center back during her senior season at South Carolina.

Yuri Kawamura, who tore her ACL early last year, will begin this season on the 45-day disabled list. Julie King, a center back who also came to Carolina via the Breakers’ dispersal draft, is also recovering from off-season surgery and won’t be available for at least a month or two.

Goalkeepers

Notable returnees: Sabrina D’Angelo and Katelyn Rowland

Notable additions: None

Notable departures: None

Sabrina D’Angelo and Katelyn Rowland return to vye for the starting goalkeeper spot. D’Angelo, the 2016 NWSL Championship MVP and a Canadian allocated player, began 2017 as the team’s starting keeper, but eventually lost that spot to Rowland.

Riley says he still hasn’t decided who will open this season as the starter.

“Sabrina arrived in amazing shape,” Riley says. “She wants her spot back. She didn’t go away with Canada [national team]. She wanted to stay and become the number one again … They’ve both been spectacular, and honestly, the difference between them is hairline.”

The 20th Player

Unsigned draftees: Rebecca Rasmussen; Morgan Reid; Ryan Williams; Carlin Hudson

A small NWSL roster rule change this year allows teams to retain the rights to unsigned players they selected in the January NWSL College Draft for the duration of the 2018 season. Four of the Courage’s five draftees were not signed to contracts—Rebecca Rasmussen, Morgan Reid, Ryan Williams, and Carlin Hudson.

However, Riley was impressed with their preseason play. Most of them will continue to train with the team and could be utilized under another roster provision that permits non-contract players to be signed to temporary deals to replace national team players while they are away on international duty, as long as the team has one of their 20 alloted roster spots open.

In addition to its American national teamers, the Courage have at least five non-U.S. national team players subject to midseason call-up: Erceg, Debinha, O’Sullivan, D’Angelo, and Chapman.