CARY, N.C. (Jan. 17, 2024) — The North Carolina Courage today announces the acquisition of German Women’s National Team defender Felicitas ‘Feli’ Rauch via transfer from Vfl Wolfsburg for an agreed upon fee. The club has signed her to a new two-year, guaranteed contract through the 2025 NWSL season.
The 27-year-old has 36 appearances for the German senior National Team, including the 2022 Euros and 2023 Women’s World Cup. She has four goals on the international stage, including three in 2023. She’s played club for the Frauen-Bundesliga superpower Wolfsburg since 2019 and had a pair of assists in five matches played so far this season.
“Today is a great day in Courage Country. Feli is quite the addition to our roster. She’s a German international with a wealth of experience and someone who suits our style of play and team identity. I’m absolutely thrilled to have her join us. She’s an extremely technical player with a high IQ for the game. This has the potential to be a cornerstone signing in the new era of the Courage and is both massive for our current team and where we want to take this club in the future. Welcome Feli, we can’t wait to get started,” said Courage head coach Sean Nahas.
Rauch saw action in nine international contests in 2023, including a start in Germany’s opening match at the 2023 Women’s World Cup before a training injury sidelined her for the remainder of the tournament.
Rauch had five appearances in the Euro 2022, helping Germany reach the final. She made her debut at 19 years old in a 2015 friendly against England, playing the full 90 minutes.
Rauch joined Wolfsburg in 2019 and has 80 league appearances for the club, scoring eight times from her defensive position. She’s helped the European giant to two Frauen-Bundesliga championships, four straight DFB Pokal Frauen titles, and a pair of runners-up finishes in the UEFA Women’s Champions League in 2019-20 and 2022-23.
Rauch began her club career in 2012 with FFC Turbine Potsdam II after two years in their academy. She would play with them for three years before joining the first team in 2014, where she’d make 89 appearances and notch 22 goals across five seasons before departing for Wolfsburg.
The Courage will require an international spot for Rauch. She becomes the 29th player on the Courage roster alongside 22 returning players from 2023, two free agent signings, another acquired professional veteran, and three drafted players.
ABOUT THE NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE
The North Carolina Courage begin their eighth season of competition in 2024 since beginning play in the National Women’s Soccer League (USSF Division I) in 2017. The Courage were formed after Steve Malik purchased the Western New York Flash and relocated the franchise to Cary, North Carolina, and play their home games at WakeMed Soccer Park. The Courage are the winningest club in NWSL history, claiming seven league trophies as three-time NWSL Shield winners (2017, 2018, 2019), two-time NWSL Champions (2018, 2019), and two-time UKG NWSL Challenge Cup champions (2022, 2023). The Courage also won the 2018 ICC Championship.
