NC Courage take four players in the NWSL draft

After adding Julia Spetsmark earlier this week, the NC Courage took four players in the 2019 NWSL draft. Picking fifth, the team selected USC forward Leah Pruitt and picked again in the first round at number nine adding defender Hailey Harbison from from Pepperdine University. In the second round, the Courage took midfielder Lauren Milliet of Colorado College and rounded out the draft with fourth rounder Kaycie Tillman, a midfielder from National Champion Florida State University.

The 2019 season will require the Courage to depend on their depth even more so than their past two seasons when they reached the NWSL Championship. With the 2019 World Cup looming, it’s possible that the US Women’s National Team players on the squad will miss half the season. Filling the roles of presumed call ups Crystal Dunn, Sam Mewis, Abby Dahlkemper, and McCall Zerboni will be a tall order - and that’s just the US team. Debinha, Abby Erceg, Sabrina D’Angelo, Yuri Kawamura, and the aforementioned Spetsmark may also represent their countries and miss significant parts of the season.

For now, the team will prepare to begin preseason on March 4th and defend their title of NWSL Champs in 2019.