CARY, NC—The NWSL Championship, played Sunday at a sold-out WakeMed Soccer Park, was bound to be a game of destiny for either the North Carolina Courage or Chicago Red Stars. A Courage win would be their third league title in four years (going back to their 2016 championship as the Western New York Flash), to go along with three consecutive NWSL Shields, ensconcing the Courage as the closest thing to a dynasty anyone has seen in the league’s relatively brief existence and the irregular history of American women’s pro soccer. A Red Stars victory would be the club’s first league championship and the capper to an indomitable, record-setting season for their goalscorer extraordinaire, Sam Kerr.

But destiny had room for only one occupant on this occasion. The Courage struck quickly and never relented, hanging three goals on the Red Stars in the opening half before cruising to a 4-0 rout to claim—among all the other accolades—their second straight NWSL crown.

“It’s a great feeling—there’s nothing like winning a championship,” said Courage manager Paul Riley. “I was pleased with the way the team played. We did a pretty good job of trying to stop Sam Kerr. I was pleased with the way the team played. In the final, very often you don’t play your best game, but it was a pretty good game. It wasn’t our best game, but it was certainly a good game. And we deserved the result.”

“It really nice to host,” Dunn said. “We heard some familiar chants and people calling our names. It was really great for us to get the win we did today in front of those fans, because they’ve been so loyal and incredible this whole year.”

“First and foremost, congratulations to North Carolina,” said Chicago manager Rory Dames. “Like I said earlier in the week, what Paul has built here is really special.”

The rain clouds lifted hours before kickoff, replaced by a humid canopy that enveloped Sahlen’s Stadium like a typical Courage match in July. North Carolina ran out their expected starting lineup in their usual box midfield formation. The Red Stars likewise didn’t throw any obvious curveballs, a lack of flexibility perhaps forced upon Dames after starting center back Tierna Davidson injured her ankle in training on Thursday, requiring Dames to go with Katie Naughton as her replacement alongside Julie Ertz.

In the second minute, off a Courage turnover, Chicago’s Vanessa DiBernardo delivered a shot from distance that was saved by the leaping Stephanie Labbe. After thwarting that danger, the Courage got on the scoreboard themselves just two minutes later. After a quick charge up the center channel by Lynn William and a cross by Jessica McDonald, Debinha poked a bounding ball out of a scrum in front of goal and past Red Stars keeper Alyssa Naeher for the early 1-0 advantage.

“I saw the playing starting with HAO and Jess,” Debinha said. “It’s a play that we always practice, just going deep and crossing. When I saw [McDonald] going to the corner, I was, like, I need to follow this and believe that I can score. So when the ball bounced, I said, well, that’s the moment.”

The Courage nearly doubled their lead in the 13th minute, when Williams nodded a corner kick at the near post. But Naeher was in position to make a diving, fingertip save. In the 20th minute, Kerr found her first shot when a through ball split the Courage center backs to find the streaking Kerr, but Labbe was in position to snare her liner. Soon after, Kerr got another run against the Courage back line, but Williams sprinted back and dispossessed Kerr from behind.

“I think the epitome of the game was when Lynn Williams chased down Sam Kerr midway through the first half,” Riley said. “I think that said a lot about our team and what we’re all about.”

North Carolina found their second score in the 26th minute. After accumulating several threatening forays, McDonald got on the end of a Williams cross, heading the service back across goal into the near netting for a 2-0 lead. Just when it appeared the Courage were content to play out the half heading into intermission, a quick strike in added time, triggered by Debinha and Sam Mewis, ended with Crystal Dunn poking a loose ball in the box past a prone Naeher to extend the scoreline to 3-0 at halftime.

“Deb had gotten through the back line and went end line,” Dunn said. “I just remember being at the top of the 18 thinking if she pulls it back, I’m ready for it. But the ball came in and got stuck between me and Julie Ertz. I just fought my way through it and someway, somehow got on the end of it and shot it.”

As Riley entered the Courage locker room at halftime, there was little need for him refocus his players on the task at hand, despite the sizable lead.

“As they walked in, they were screaming, ‘It’s not over, it’s not over. It’s nil-nil.’” Riley said. “I think at this level, you don’t have to say that to them … The one big thing for me was don’t change the way we play. Let’s go after a fourth, let’s go after a fifth. Do not back off. I don’t know if other people would do that, but that’s not our way.”

The Courage pushed the lead to 4-0 in the 61st minute, when Abby Dahlkmper sailed a service over the top of the Chicago back line that found the Mewi’s head, and her redirection cleared Naeher before nestling into nylon.

The last noteworthy moment of the match came as regulation time ticked down, when Heather O’Reilly was subbed out of the last game of her legendary career. The crowd of 10,227, a new attendance record for WakeMed Soccer Park, rose as one to give HAO a standing ovation.

“Heather is a really special player,” Dunn said. “Not everybody gets to go out the way she does. We talk about all the time how retirement is a touchy topic for a lot of us. Some people go out the way they want to go out, and some people get shoved out. I think for her, she’s been able to control the way she wanted to leave her legacy … She was saying to me earlier today that she’s healthy and just happy.”

“I’ve really had a lot of time to process that this is my last game,” O’Reilly said. “Unlike my international retirement, I didn’t feel like the floodgates were going to open and it was going to super emotional. I feel like I’m in a peaceful and healthy place to hang up my boots.”

Debinha, who scored the first goal Sunday as well as the game-winning during last week’s semifinal victory over Reign FC, won the NWSL Championship MVP. The award comes just two days after Debinha, a league MVP finalist, somehow failed to earn a spot on the first or second NWSL Best XI for the season.

“It’s very special for me and a nice surprise,” Debinha said. “I think when I scored the goal last year [in the playoffs final] and Jess also scored, she deserved [the MVP]. Today, I was like maybe I can get this. But my first thought was to help my team.”

Riley mused on Debinha’s rocky first year in North Carolina, in 2017, when she fancied the attack but was reticent to play on the other side of the ball.

“There’s a great trust between me and Debinha,” Riley said. “I trust her implicitly, and I think you can see today how many times she came back behind the ball and defended for us. Now she’s a complete player for me … She’s the best Brazlian player in the world for me, by far.”

While NWSL Championship weekend has become old hat for the Courage, this was Chicago’s first visit to the league final. Dames said his team showed uneasiness with the occasion, both during and in the run-up to the match.

“I think we learned that the two days leading up to the game aren’t necessarily about preparing for the game, as much as it’s about the event,” Dames said. “I think we learned a lot about how we prepare coming in here and how to handle what we need to do once we’re here. I think North Carolina definitely showed their experience with the process.”

“Chicago has played in [a championship] now,” Riley added. “All these players in Chicago will be so much better now … I’m hoping Chicago and Rory will be better for this. It’s hard getting into finals, it’s hard producing in finals. It’s not hard motivating players, but it’s hard keeping them from getting over-emotional inside the big games.”

North Carolina heads into an off-season that promises its own set of challenges and hurdles, including the prospect of losing players to attrition and league expansion. But the Courage seem to relish those obstacles, viewing them as another opportunity to write their legacy.

“It’s tough to win week in and week out, and it’s tough to come in on championship day and win 4-0,” Riley said, “especially against a very, very good side that has won many games this year and we haven’t beaten all season.

“When you coach a special team and it comes to the big games, [the Courage] just look different. This team has looked different the past month, probably since the Women’s ICC, which I think galvanized the group. We just looked fresh and hungry, there was a lot of bite in practice … In the end, for whatever reason, we were as fresh as could be at this point in the season.”

BOX SCORE

LINEUPS

NC: Labbe, Hinkle, Erceg, Dahlkemper, O'Reilly (Roccaro, 89’), O'Sullivan, Mewis, Debinha, Dunn (Zerboni 61’), McDonald (Hamilton, 75’, L. Williams

CHI: Naeher, Short, Ertz, Naughton, Gorden, Colaprico (Elby, 84’), Brian, DiBernardo (Stanton, 75’), McCaskill (K. Johnson 46’), Nagasato, Kerr

GOALS

NC: Debinha, 4’; McDonald, 26’ (L. Williams); Dunn, 45+4’; S. Mewis, 61’ (Dahlkemper)

CHI: ---

CAUTIONS

NC: Zerboni, 74’

CHI: DiBernado, 47’; Ertz, 67’

EJECTIONS

NC: ---

CHI: ---

ATTENDANCE: 10,227