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Portland Thorns win NWSL title, beating North Carolina Courage 1-0 in final

A close-range shot in the 50th minute from Lindsey Horan handed the Thorns a 1-0 victory in a gritty title match.

The Portland Thorns beat the North Carolina Courage in the National Women’s Soccer League championship game.
The Portland Thorns beat the North Carolina Courage in the National Women’s Soccer League championship game.Read moreCourtesy of the NWSL

ORLANDO, Fla. — After playing nearly the entire year without its star player and taking down an Orlando Pride team on a nine-game win streak in the semifinals, the Portland Thorns raised the National Women's Soccer League championship trophy Saturday night at Orlando City Stadium.

A close-range shot in the 50th minute from Lindsey Horan handed the Thorns (15-5-5, 50 points) a 1-0 victory in a gritty title match against regular-season champ North Carolina (16-7-2, 49 points).

"Maybe the most beautiful ugly game I've ever been a part of," Portland coach Mark Parsons said of the physical, intense competition. "But we won and [we're] glad that's over."

Portland defender Emily Sonnett delivered a set piece from midfield and the ball soared past a cluster of players without touching anyone before it landed at the feet of Horan, who was positioned a couple feet in front of the right post. Horan fired over the head of North Carolina goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland.

"She's the best and biggest in enormous games," Parsons said of Horan. "Thankful that the ball dropped to her, and knew it was only going to end up in one place."

In the final minutes of the match, North Caroline created a constant stream of goal-scoring opportunities. By the end, the Courage outshot the Thorns 16-4, but five on target and none found the back of the net.

Portland goalkeeper Adrianna Franch finished the night with six saves. Rowland had two.

"It was such a back and forth game and more of a defense bid than anything. It was brutal," Horan said. "For us to hold onto that win for the whole second half with a team like Carolina coming at us, we dealt with a lot and I'm proud of this team, and I'm glad that's over."

The Thorns physically battered the Courage throughout the match, beginning with a Tobin Heath challenge that took down North Carolina forward Taylor Smith two minutes after kickoff.

Smith held her right shoulder as she walked to the sideline for evaluation and popped what looked to be pain medicine into her mouth before running back onto the pitch, but she did not last long before subbing off. The Courage had to move some players around and replaced Smith with Makenzy Doniak.

In the 39th minute, Courage forward Kristen Hamilton also went down with an injury and was replaced by Jessica McDonald.

"I thought we played a brilliant game, to be honest with you," North Carolina coach Paul Riley said. "The two early substitutions obviously changed the shape a little bit, we had to tweak it a little bit, but the players hung in there. I thought it was just a really gutsy performance."

The referee took control of the match in the 41st minute, pulling out a yellow card against Heath for persistent infringement. Portland's Hayley Raso and Dagny Brynjarsdottir also earned yellows in the 46th and 72nd minutes, respectively.

Hard tackles and fouls continued, however, especially as North Carolina grew frustrated.

Heath also hit the turf and was slow to get up toward the end of the match. Heath missed 22 games this season with a back injury and only recently returned, playing nearly a full match for the first time last week when the Thorns eliminated the Orlando Pride 4-1 in the semifinals.

"They were more than physical, and I think they had more tackles than passes in the first half," Riley said. "I'd rather see the players play than kick people. In the second half, the game started."

The game ended with a combined total of 24 fouls, 11 conceded by the Courage and 13 by the Thorns. The announced crowd of 8,124 protested loudly on many occasions that looked to warrant a foul or yellow card when no call was made.

"I thought we were the better team on the day, but sometimes that experience and that class finds the back of the net," Courage player McCall Zerboni said. "That's what playoff ball is all about."