The Portland Thorns’ playoff campaign may have come to an end last weekend, but there’s still a championship match to play. Making their third consecutive appearance in the NWSL final, the North Carolina Courage are vying to defend their 2018 title as they face off against the Chicago Red Stars.
The Courage are coming off a difficult — yet ultimately convincing — semifinal win over Reign FC, a match that closely mirrored their 2019 season as a whole. After a late goal for each side put the match at 1-1 after regulation time, North Carolina stepped it up in overtime, putting three goals past Tacoma’s Casey Murphy in less than ten minutes.