NC Courage Soccer Champ Kaleigh Kurtz Scores with a Worthy Goal

North Carolina Courage center back soccer player Kaleigh Kurtz is partnering with Athlete Ally for a "Prideraiser" throughout June. "Twenty dollars will be tallied for every NC Courage game, goal, clean sheet (no goals either side), and assist by a defender this month," said KK, as she is known. "And any fan who matches my donation to any LGBTQIA+ organization gets a chance to win my jersey worn in a Pride game!"

"Because I have been in a position where finances have been challenging," KK continued, "I will also give away a pair of cleats to anyone who donates whatever they can. A dollar, or five or ten, it doesn't matter because every little bit counts!"

Raised in Greer, South Carolina, KK started soccer young, first at the local YMCA, then with the Carolina Elite Soccer Academy by age nine, where she became more competitive and joined the premier team. She wanted to follow in the footsteps of her older sister Alexa. "She got me started playing this amazing sport," said KK.

She explained how she also became a queer ally. "During my formative years, my parents were a part of a friend group that had straight couples with kids, gay couples with kids, and some without," KK said. "Everyone would meet at a house on Folly Beach and would stay together for the week. It was such a loving place filled with a beautiful community. And, as a kid, the favorite question is 'why?' This was an open and accepting place I could go and ask questions, and also see that love is shown in different ways with all kinds of people. But all the love was the same."

In high school, KK was all-State for three years. "Our family's only rule was once you started a season, you needed to finish it out," she said. "Only then could you reevaluate how much joy it brought."

"Even my grandparents traveled everywhere with me," KK continued. "I broke my femur the summer going into my high school junior year, and my team was flying out to play in Denver for the ECNL Championship. My grandpa had bought a ticket, a hotel room, and a rental car for the trip. When I found out, I told him, 'You know I won't be healed by then. I won't be playing.' His response was 'but Darlin', your team is playing, I wouldn't miss it for the world.'"

KK played for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, where she was the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year and 2016's first-team All-American. She joined the Courage in 2018 after one season with the Swedish club Östersunds DFF and spent the NWSL 2019/20 off-season playing in the Australian W-League for Canberra United, on loan from the Courage.

As a professional player, she's known for her strong defensive play and winning multiple awards with the National Women's Soccer League, including shields, cups and championships. KK also holds the NWSL record for consecutive minutes played, surpassing the previous record of 6,483 minutes.

"When I was growing up, everyone wanted to be the next Mia Hamm," KK said. "Very quickly, I knew I was born to be a defender. Since I was so young, there was something so precious about protecting the net with my life."

As she got older, KK's soccer/fútbol heroes were Virgil van Dijk and Ronald Araújo. "I love the way they play because they illustrate the art of defending," she said. "But the visionary passing attempts I try are because I watched everything Kevin De Bruyne did. He's a wizard!" In addition to being primarily a center back, KK has also played defensive center midfield and left back.

Having grown up in South Carolina, she appreciates living in North Carolina now because of how green it is, and the nearby accessibility to lakes, beaches and mountains. She loves playing in Portland, Oregon, too, because of its strong fan base.

In 2021, KK recalls waiting to hear player assignments for a Portland game leading up to the start of her consecutive minute streak. "He told us that he would let us know later who would be starting that game," she said. "So when I got home, I decided to go bowling with my boyfriend as a distraction until I received the news. We bowled 15 games from 1 until 9 pm when I finally got the nerve to text the coach to see if I got the spot."

"I got the center back spot for that Portland game, but my right arm and glute were so sore from thousands of bowling lunges!" KK said.

Kaleigh Kurtz is happy to have found her professional home. "The people around me bring me so much joy," she said. "While we sometimes have disagreements or squabbles, I've built amazing friendships so we can talk it out and move past anything! The culture in the NC Courage locker room is second to none."

Because of that community support, she's also grateful to be an LGBTQIA+ ally. "I'm privileged to donate what I can while getting to play this game that I love," KK said. "But to see how many people over the years rally around this Prideraiser has been special!"