— Lewis and Clark concluded their 19th century westward expedition at Fort Clatsop, an outpost in the northwest corner of Oregon. Another band of eastern travelers went west Saturday to fulfill their own destiny, as the North Carolina Courage completed a record-setting season for the ages with a 3-0 victory over the Portland Thorns at Providence Park to win the NWSL Championship.

The championship completes the Courage’s unofficial season treble, as the team won the league playoff title, the regular season crown, and the inaugural midseason International Championship Cup (ICC) this year. North Carolina’s playoff championship also snaps the so-called NWSL Shield curse, as the Courage become the first team in NWSL history to win the regular season and playoff titles.

“It’s hard to sum up a season like that,” said Courage manager Paul Riley. “To play 16 games on the road without a loss is incredible. And to come into this cauldron and perform like that … forget the result. The performance was excellent. We were the better team. We created a lot of chances. Their work ethic today was unbelievable.”

The Courage came out aggressive and cracked the scoreboard first in the 13th minute. Lynn Williams drove outside and took an angled shot that ricocheted off the post and into the goalmouth. North Carolina midfielder Debinha, who missed who last year’s NWSL final with an arm injury, was on the mark to nod in the rebound and give North Carolina the initial lead.

North Carolina doubled their advantage in the 40th minute. Off a Thorns clearance, Jaelene Hinkle first-timed a service back into the box that Jessica McDonald, who had pushed two previous Hinkle crosses wide of frame, headed past Franch to make the score 2-0 at intermission.

Indeed, the Courage could have picked up a third goal before halftime, but Williams shanked a promising chance in the area wide of frame. The Courage oozed moxie throughout the opening 45, gesticulating towards the capacity, boisterous Portland crowd. Near halftime, Crystal Dunn fell to ground to mock a perceived flop by Portland’s Meghan Klingenberg, theatrics that earned Dunn an admonishment from referee Guido Gonzales.

As expected, Portland came out for the second half pushing for a goal, making for some nervy opening minutes for the North Carolina back line. But the Courage recovered and extended their lead in the 64th minute. North Carolina played a short corner out to Merritt Mathias, who one-timed a service that McDonald again found, heading in her brace for the final 3-0 scoreline.

For her exploits Saturday, McDonald was named NWSL Championship MVP. McDonald also scored the match-winning goal last Tuesday in North Carolina’s playoffs semifinal win over the Chicago Red Stars.

The Courage avenge last year’s NWSL Championship loss to Portland. Indeed, for their litany of achievements in 2018, defeating the Thorns four times this year ranks near the top. While this is the Courage’s first league championship, this team has won two of the last three NWSL finals, going back to 2016 when they were the Western New York Flash.

Beyond their bounty of silverware, the Courage set club records in a bevy of categories—wins, fewest losses (only one), points, goals scored and allowed, shutouts, etc.—that allow them to stake their claim as the best team in American women’s soccer history.