Ashley Sanchez has revived her career with North Carolina Courage after a difficult period that included no playing time at the 2023 World Cup and an unexpected trade from Washington Spirit. Now playing on the left wing, the 27-year-old is enjoying the finest form of her career and has become one of the NWSL’s leading scorers.

Sanchez has scored 19 goals this season, breaking records for an American player and a Courage player, while narrowly missing a chance to equal Temwa Chawinga’s 20-goal NWSL record after a VAR-offside decision. Her transformation followed encouragement from coach Mak Lind, a positional change and a determined focus on patience, effort and learning from adversity.