NC Courage shuts out Red Stars, wins back-to-back NWSL championships
The North Carolina Courage and its roster dotted with World Cup players did its part in the never-ending quest of women’s professional soccer to capture a slice of America’s passion for the U.S. Women’s National Team.
The Courage won its second National Women’s Soccer League title in a row, this time capturing the crown at home. The Courage defeated the Chicago Red Stars 4-0 in front of ESPN2 cameras and a Sahlen’s Stadium record crowd of 10,227 Sunday afternoon at the WakeMed Soccer Park facility.
Three of the goals came from U.S. Women’s National Team players who last summer won the World Cup in France. Jessica McDonald scored in the 26th minute, Crystal Dunn in the first half’s four minutes of extra time and Samantha Mewis in the 61st minute.
“When the World Cup players came back, they gave us a lift,” Courage coach Paul Riley said. “We started to practice a lot better. This was a special team. September and October means you have to play well in big games. I think Chicago will be a much better team for this game. Our team loves the big game and the big moment.”
The Courage’s first goal, just 3:35 into the match, was the fastest in NWSL championship game history. The sequence started with defender Jae Hinkle intercepting a pass to the deep right side of the field. As the ball was advanced, Lynn Williams led a break with Dunn on the right wing and Debinha on the left.
Williams sent the ball right, and Dunn delivered a cross to Debinha. The Brazilian’s shot was blocked, but she tapped the rebound into the net past Red Stars goalie Alyssa Naeher.
Debhina was named the Most Valuable Player.
“I think she was MVP for more than the goal she scored,” Riley said. “She’s a complete player now. It was all the little things she did for us today.”
On the second goal 25:45 into the match, the 6-foot Jessica McDonald scored on a header with an assistant from Williams. As Naeher moved to her right post, Williams floated a pass to McDonald at the opposite post. As Naehler scrambled toward McDonald, McDonald’s header floated over Naeher’s head until softly hitting the turf inside the net.
The third goal came during four minutes of extra time when Naeher was again helplessly out of position with the ball bouncing the Courage’s way. Naeher came out of the net for the ball and ended in a pileup with a teammate and Dunn. Dunn scrambled to her feet first and tapped the ball into the empty net.
If America’s loves a dominant team, the Courage is claiming that identity. It has won two regular-seasons titles in a row in addition to back-to-back postseason national championships.
The franchise, which relocated to North Carolina in 2017 after winning the NWSL championship in 2016 as the Western New York Flash, has played in four consecutive finals and won three of the four.
“It has been an amazing four years with this group,” Riley said.
The Courage’s fast offensive start and strong defense frustrated the Red Stars’ Sam Kerr, the NWSL’s leading scorer for the year.
Midway through the first half Kerr had a step on a defender, but Savannah McCaskill failed to get her the ball. When McCaskill’s pass was knocked away, Kerr pounded her chest while yelling in McCaskill’s direction. McCaskill waved her hand at her dismissively as she turned her back and retreated on defense.
“I think that was very uncharacteristic of our team,” Red Stars coach Rory Dames said. “I think the frustration was a combination of the score and the heat.”
Earlier in the match, while still scoreless, Kerr also had a shot on a breakaway with one defender on her hip, but it was saved by Courage goalie Steph Labbe.
In the second half, the rout was on as Mewis scored on a header off a long pass from the center of the field in the 61st minute.
The championship was the first time the Courage beat the Red Stars in four matches this season. They played to a 1-1 tie on April 13 in Cary, and Chicago won twice at home, 3-1 on May 12 and 2-1 on July 21.
The July match on ESPN2 drew 149,000 viewers on ESPN2, a 67 percent increase for a NWSL broadcast a year earlier on the Lifetime network, according to a Sports Media Watch report.
In the match’s final moments, Heather O’Reilly received a standing ovation as she left the field for a substitute. O’Reilly, playing her last game before retirement, threw her hands up to acknowledge the crowd in appreciation.
This story was originally published October 27, 2019 at 6:22 PM with the headline "NC Courage shuts out Red Stars, wins back-to-back NWSL championships."