The North Carolina Courage, buoyed by the efforts of Aline Gomes and Manaka Matsukubo, beat San Diego Wave FC 2-1 at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday to clinch a spot in the playoffs.

Aline Gomes opened the scoring for North Carolina (12-2-9) in the 32nd minute with a right-footed shot from close range that found the bottom right corner of the net. In first-half stoppage time, Manaka Matsukubo doubled the Courage's lead with a header from the center of the box to make it 2-0.

San Diego Wave FC (5-7-11) managed to pull one back in the second half when Hanna Lundkvist scored in the 84th minute following a corner kick. Despite attempts on target by María Sánchez and Mya Jones toward the end of regulation time, the Wave couldn't find an equalizer.

Up next: The North Carolina Courage take on Angel City FC on Saturday, October 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET at WakeMed Soccer Park. San Diego Wave FC will next face the Houston Dash on Sunday, October 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. 

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