The North Carolina Courage put four unanswered goals past the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday, winning the National Women’s Soccer League championship for a second consecutive year by a scoreline of 4-0.
It is the second title in the club’s history, tying a record held by the Portland Thorns and the defunct FC Kansas City.
The party has officially started in Cary! 🏆🎊#NWSLChampionship pic.twitter.com/k2mZ4IREzY
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 27, 2019
Like the dominant team they are (and have been), the Courage - fresh off of winning their third straight NWSL Shield - wasted no time in imposing themselves on Chicago.
Just four minutes in, Debinha’s close-range finish - the fastest-ever goal in a NWSL championship game - foreshadowed what was to come at a sold-out Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park.
What exactly was it that came in the 86 minutes that followed?
A tormenting, fluid Courage attack that overpowered a feeble Red Stars, who were missing injured Tierna Davidson and failed to plug-in league MVP Sam Kerr into the game.
Before the first half came to an end, forward Jessica McDonald double the lead for the hosts’, heading the ball with into the back of net. In stoppage time, Crystal Dunn’s goal put the game out of the Red Stars’ reach.
“It was a hotter today than we expected and we needed to share the load and, you know, [we] had four different goal scorers,” Dunn said. “I always said this team is so hard to beat because who are you going to stop on our team?”
“We got up on them early and I think that really helped us in the end,” she added. “It is a final and we are playing against a top team this year and we obviously did not think the score would be four-zero,” Dunn added. “So we are really proud of our effort.”
Debinha, the game’s first goalscorer, was named the final MVP, which was U.S. national team legend’s Heather O’Reilly last professional game.
Had the game under her control from the jump.
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 27, 2019
Your 2019 #NWSLChampionship MVP is @Debinha7! 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/XamaQOZr6N
With Sunday’s title in the books, the Courage became the first NWSL team to win the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship in back-to-back seasons.
In other words, Paul Riley and Co. have put together a dynasty. It was only fitting that they also became the first team in NWSL history to hoist the cup in front of the home fans in Cary.
