American defender Kaleigh Kurtz brings Courage to Canberra United

American defender Kaleigh Kurtz has linked up with the W-League club on a season-long loan from the North Carolina Courage.

Kurtz is the first of two international signings set to be unveiled ahead of this week's season opener against the Perth Glory at McKellar Park on Sunday.

She joins Simone Charley, Katie Stengel and Elise Thorsnes on the books as Canberra set their sights on redemption.

Canberra coach Heather Garriock says there could be few better imports than "someone with a winning mentality" like Kurtz.

The 25-year-old has played a role in the Courage claiming back-to-back titles in the NWSL and hopes she can repeat the dose around the globe.

"I am super excited for the upcoming season, this is my first time in Australia so it's a great opportunity to develop, both as a soccer player and as a person," Kurtz said.

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"The mentality that we have at the Courage is not always results oriented, we believe if we can work on getting better every single day then the results will come.

"Hopefully I can bring that mentality to the squad and we can all push each other to improve each day."

United will hold their season launch on Wednesday as they begin their path back to the W-League finals.

Canberra have missed the W-League finals in consecutive seasons and Garriock is thinking outside the box in a bid to see the club claw its way back towards the summit.

Garriock has built a squad around young gun and co-captain Karly Roestbakken with Kurtz set to add some much-needed starch to the club's championship bid.

"Kurtz's leadership qualities are fantastic, she is a great communicator, plays with both feet and is solid down back," Garriock said.

"She is coming off the back of winning back-to-back championships so it is great to have someone with a winning mentality come into our squad that knows what it takes to win."

Canberra will play their first two matches at home.