Cary Lady Clarets was an American women's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team, founded in 2007. The team was a member of the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team played its home games at

WakeMed Soccer Park WakeMed Soccer Park is a Association football, soccer complex in Cary, North Carolina, United States. It consists of a purpose-built, Soccer-specific stadium, soccer-specific main stadium named "First Horizon Stadium", two lighted practice footba ...

Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, Wake, Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham, and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh-Cary, NC M ...

. The club's colors was claret, blue and white. The team was a sister organization of the men's

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

team, which plays in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

. The formation of the women's team was announced on November 30, 2007 at a press conference at

. The team was originally named Carolina RailHawks Women; in November 2008, Next Level Academy, which owns the club, announced a partnership with

Burnley Football Club Burnley Football Club () is a professional football club based in Burnley, Lancashire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1882, Burnley were one of the first to beco ...

of the

English Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divis ...

in order to jointly develop professional footballers; as part of the agreement, the team was renamed the Cary Lady Clarets. The team folded after the 2009 season. The team was coached by

Jay Howell Jay Canfield Howell (born November 26, 1955) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds (1980), Chicago Cubs (1981), New York Yankees (1982–1984), Oakland Athletics (1985–1987), Los Angeles Dodgers (19 ...

, Director of Coaching at the

Capital Area Soccer League North Carolina FC Youth (NCFC Youth) is an American soccer club and eponymous league based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and serving the greater Research Triangle. It is the largest youth-to-professional soccer club in the country. Club NCFC Yout ...

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

, and features many players with local amateur or collegiate affiliations from Triangle area high schools and universities such as the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, and

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

Players

Squad 2009

Year-by-year

External links

Official Site

Triangle Soccer Fanatics, an independent supporters club of the Carolina RailHawks

References

{{North Carolina Sports Association football clubs established in 2007 Sports in Cary, North Carolina North Carolina FC Burnley F.C. USL W-League (1995–2015) teams 2007 establishments in North Carolina 2009 disestablishments in North Carolina Association football clubs disestablished in 2009 Defunct soccer clubs in North Carolina Women's sports in North Carolina