Homegrown & Home Sweet: A Courage Comfort
Posted by Ryan Davis on
A home. Wake Med Soccer Park, recently named First Horizon Stadium at Wake Med Soccer park, is a home to 10,000 permanent seats and has hosted crowds in excess of 10,000. However, it is also a home to girls' and women's soccer dreams alike. Countless names and stars of the NWSL played on this stellar pitch in their youth days in the ECNL, on the bigger stage of ACC Conference Championships, or the ultimate - the NCAA College Cup.
The Courage's own Maycee Bell and Brianna Pinto both starred in championships here for the local dynasty, the North Carolina Tar Heels. Malia Bekley won a championship in Cary with Florida State. The Courage's upcoming match this week vs ACFC also features a number of players that chased title hopes in Cary...Christen Press starred for The Cardinal in Cary winning 1 championship. Ali Riley also for Stanaford. Sydney Leroux for UCLA, and Evelyn Shores a recent signee of ACFC won a championship for the Tar Heels before signing free agency with Angel City.
Some players for the respective teams entered the NWSL through Under 18 early entry signing mechanism, such as Riley Jackson for the Courage, Kennedy Fuller and Gisele Thompson for Angel City, as well as recently transferred Alyssa Thompson.
However you arrived in Cary, players know the importance of the match. It either leads to a conference championship, a national championship, or an incredibly important match versus The Courage which always have playoff implications for the league championship of the Challenge Cup.
So, in many ways, when talent finds its way to Cary, it is a home and it is comfortable. Homegrown Comfort.