The NC Courage fall 2-1 to Gotham FC in a gritty, physical match at WakeMed, dropping to seventh in the table with just five matches left. Trevor and Katie break down a wonky midfield and a defense that keeps getting caught too far forward. Then they look ahead to a road trip against the Utah Royals, on the wrong side of their win-loss-win-loss pattern lately. But they're missing two starters, so can we break that?

The eighth-minute Gotham goal that kicked off the match came from Sam Kerr drawing five defenders before finding Jordynn Dudley wide open. We break down the center back over-commitment that keeps leaving space behind, why the midfield trio of Erica Meg Parkinson, Shinomi Koyama, and Vilde Bøe Risa looks technically brilliant but structurally loose, and a predictable substitution pattern. Plus, Gianna Paul's first start and what it revealed about the ongoing search for answers at right wing.

Utah will be missing two starters to red card suspensions from their match against Angel City. They've been stuck in an alternating win-loss pattern for five straight matches. We break down former Courage midfielder Narumi Miura's growing influence in central midfield and why Trevor and Katie both see this as a genuinely winnable match at the right time. But please, let's minimize the opponent's corner kicks.

A September sellout at WakeMed, the second-largest crowd in club history, with Courage legend Sam Mewis in attendance. Shinomi Koyama hits 50 NWSL regular-season appearances. Ryan Williams celebrated for reaching 10,000 career minutes, all with the Courage. And the Courage hosted a Unified match with Special Olympics North Carolina, headlined by community ambassador Riley Jackson.

Gotham becomes the first team to officially clinch a playoff spot. Vlatko Andonovski is announced as Chicago's new sporting director, reuniting him with longtime youth coach connections at the club as speculation builds about what a rebuild there could look like.

Welcome to The Lion’s Pitch, your go-to podcast for everything North Carolina Courage. Every week, Trevor and Katie break down the latest matches, preview upcoming opponents, discuss NC Courage news, and take a look around the NWSL. Plus, we’ll bring you bonus episodes with interviews, behind-the-scenes content, and some fun surprises along the way.

New episode drops every Thursday.

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and find us online at lionspitch.com, follow us on Bluesky @lionspitch.bsky.social, or on Instagram @thelionspitch

• Hosted by Trevor Knoblich and Katie Cleary
• Produced by Mary Pruter
• Edited by Danielle Russell

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