CARY, N.C. (July 29, 2024) — The North Carolina Courage and midfielder Denise O’Sullivan have agreed to terms on a guaranteed, two-year contract extension through the 2026 NWSL season, the team announced today.
O’Sullivan is the Courage all-time leader in both minutes played (10,688) and appearances (128), leading the club to seven NWSL trophies during her eight seasons in North Carolina. The Irish midfielder joined the club in 2017 and was named the second captain in team history before the 2023 campaign.
“I’m delighted and honored to extend my time with the North Carolina Courage. When I joined seven years ago, I had no idea how big an impact this club would have on me as a player and a person. The Courage prioritizes playing a beautiful style of football that suits me well and holds everyone to incredibly high standards while creating a family environment that allows for healthy growth. The opportunity to serve as captain of this club has been one of the great joys of my professional life, and I am excited to stay and help teach the next wave of players what it means to be a member of the Courage. We’ve had a lot of great accomplishments in my time here, but we have much more to do. I’m excited to get back to work with my girls,” O’Sullivan said.
“It’s a great day for our club. Denise’s decision to stay here in North Carolina means everything. She’s a club legend, a leader, a world-class person and player. It means the world to me and our staff that she trusts us to help her continue to grow as a player and add to her legendary career. She has stood by us and helped us get through so much, both on and off the field. She is the embodiment of what it is to be a Courage player and someone I have the utmost respect for. She has been a massive part of our past and she will be a major part of shaping our future. I am absolutely thrilled to have her stay here and can’t wait for our captain and leader to continue setting the standard and raising the bar of the club and team.” said Courage Head Coach Sean Nahas.
“Denise means so much to this club and embodies the Courage culture. She’s a true professional, a world-class player, a fierce competitor, a leader, and one of the hardest-working people I’ve ever met. She’s proven her love for this club countless times and has earned the full admiration of her teammates, coaches, and the community. We’re thrilled she’ll wear the kit for years to come,” said Chief Soccer Officer Curt Johnson.
The Courage picked O’Sullivan off the waiver wire on July 28, 2017 – seven years ago almost to the day – and she has been one of the best and most consistent players ever since. She’s played the most games and second-most minutes of any field player during those seven years.
Since Opta began tracking stats for the NWSL in 2016, no player has won possession more times than O’Sullivan’s 1,289, while the midfielder also ranks third for tackles won (274), and second for duels won (928) in that span.
Across all NWSL competitions (regular season, playoffs, and Challenge Cup), O’Sullivan has donned the Courage kit 156 times, accumulating 13,166 minutes. She helped the team win the NWSL Championships in 2018 and 2019 with three straight NWSL Shields from 2017 through 2019 and a pair of NWSL Challenge Cup titles in 2022 and 2023 while also helping the Courage claim the inaugural ICC Championship in 2018.
With over 100 international caps, O’Sullivan has been a mainstay on the world stage, helping Ireland qualify for its first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.
