CARY, N.C. (Jan. 16, 2024) — The North Carolina Courage and free agent midfielder Dani Weatherholt have agreed to terms on a two-year, guaranteed contract through the 2025 NWSL season, as announced by the club Tuesday.
Weatherholt was originally drafted by the Orlando Pride in 2016 and has nearly 10,000 minutes of NWSL regular season experience across seven seasons. Weatherholt spent the last two seasons with her hometown Angel City FC after a selection in the 2022 expansion draft.
Throughout her career, Weatherholt has completed 77.51% of her passes, won 47.57% of her duels and 62.3% of her tackles, while adding three goals and three assists.
“I am absolutely thrilled to join the North Carolina Courage. This is a team that embodies excellence, dedication, and a winning culture. The Courage’s high standards and commitment to success makes this opportunity incredibly exciting for me. I look forward to challenging myself in this environment and giving everything I have for my team and city,” Weatherholt said.
“Dani brings a wealth of experience, drive, and passion to our roster and adds a different dynamic to our midfield group. She will add continued depth, help us set our standards, and will be an asset in both our possession and defending tactics to help drive our team success. We are really excited for Dani to join our club and help us build on what we started last year,” said Courage head coach Sean Nahas.
Weatherholt was selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft and made 74 appearances in four seasons with the Pride. Orlando then traded Weatherholt to Seattle Reign FC ahead of the 2021 season. She made 20 appearances in her lone season in the Pacific Northwest and completed 81.76% of her passes, won 65.22% of her tackles and a career-high 53.66% of her duels.
Angel City selected Weatherholt in its expansion draft prior to the 2022 season and she made 41 appearances across two seasons in Los Angeles, winning 185 duels, 47 tackles and creating 10 chances.
Weatherholt went on loan to Australian club Melbourne Victory during the 2018-19 offseason and made 12 appearances to help the club win the Premiership title. She was drafted after a four-year collegiate career with Santa Clara, where Weatherholt earned All-WCC Honorable Mention twice and was named to the First Team as a senior.
Weatherholt is the second NWSL free agent signed by the Courage this off-season. The Courage have 22 players under contract from the 2023 season, two free agents, one trade acquisition, and three players drafted for a total of 28 players on the active roster.
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 have the most trophies 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.
