With North Carolina Courage, Utah Royals FC still winless, should fans worry? | OneFootball

After the first four games, two teams in the NWSL remain winless: the North Carolina Courage and Utah Royals FC. The Courage sits in 13th place since they have two points and the Royals sit in last with just one point.

Everyone else has won at least once and two teams are undefeated. So for North Carolina and Utah fans, the current standings can feel very discouraging.

Utah Royals fans should be worried

San Diego Wave v Utah Royals | John Matthew Harrison/ISI Photos/GettyImages

For the Utah Royals, fans should be worried about the team. They finished last season in 11th place, and truthfully their roster talent is about the same or slightly better. There are some exciting players like Ally Sentnor and Mina Tanaka. Plus, Mandy McGlynn can compete with the top goalkeepers in the league.

However, the offseason transfers were underwhelming for Utah. That is not to say that they cannot figure things out and compete for a playoff spot. Rather, manager Jimmy Coenraets has to take his team and put them in a position to compete in every game. The ingredients are there but the scoring issues the team is having can be a mix of the players and coaching.

It does not help that they did not make the playoffs last year. At this rate, it makes sense for Utah fans to be worried. A true consensus of where the team is will be known once they complete their next three games, in which all of the teams are in the bottom half of the table.

North Carolina fans should be patient

NY/NJ Gotham FC v NC Courage | Ira L. Black - Corbis/GettyImages

On the other hand, North Carolina fans should not be worried yet. Instead, they should be patient. It might seem dark after the 3-1 loss to NJ/NY Gotham FC that saw the Courage dismantled. However, this is a team that knows success. Since their first season in 2017, the club has missed the playoffs just once and has never finished lower than seventh place.

In addition, the team is full of stars in 2025. The shocking trade of Jaedyn Shaw shook the NWSL, but she joined players like Casey Murphy, Denise O'Sullivan, and Ashley Sanchez. Plus, there are young players like Riley Jackson and Manaka Matsukubo who could easily turn into stars over the next year or two, especially Matsukubo.

The Courage is not far away from clicking and figuring things out. Fans must have patience for the team and there is a big chance to get the first win of the season when North Carolina hosts Bay FC this weekend.