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Chicago Red Stars: Last Lineup
Naeher; Short, Ertz, Davidson, Gorden; Brian, Colaprico, DiBernardo, Nagasato, McCaskill; Kerr.
North Carolina Courage: Last Lineup
Labbe; Hinkle, Dahlkemper, Erceg, O’Reilly; Mewis, O’Sullivan, Dunn, Debinha; Williams, McDonald.
Chicago Red Stars: Team news
The biggest injury news of the weekend came on Thursday when the Red Stars announced that defender Tierna Davidson picked up an injury in practice that would keep her out of the Championship match. In her absence, Katie Naughton is expected to take up the spot vacated by Davidson.
Otherwise, midfielder Arin Wright is also going to be absent for this match due to a recently announced pregnancy. She has not been available for the last few weeks, so this change shouldn’t have too much impact on the Red Stars. It’s definitely not ideal to experience a defensive injury before playing the best offensive team in the league, but Danielle Colaprico and Julie Ertz are both exceptional defensive players who should be able to cover Davidson's absence.
North Carolina Courage: Team news
The North Carolina Courage are coming into this match mostly healthy. Outside back Merritt Mathias suffered and ACL tear about a month back, but former USWNT superstar Heather O'Reilly has stepped into the fullback role flawlessly ahead of her retirement at the end of the season. Midfielder Sam Mewis has also been dealing with a minor knee injury, but she played nearly 100 minutes in the semifinal match.
The rest of the team is fully ready to go for this important match. The centerback pairing of Abby Erceg and Abby Dahlkemper will be tasked with the difficult job of shutting down Chicago striker Sam Kerr. On the front end, Jess McDonald and Lynn Williams will spearhead the attack against a tough Chicago defense. The Courage should be able to control the midfield, but breaking down Chicago’s anticipated low block could be a challenge.
Red Stars trying to break the curse
The Chicago Red Stars have been in the NWSL playoffs for the last five seasons, but this is the first time they have been to the final. The Red Stars have been knocked out of the playoffs by the Courage for the last two years, and they are going to be missing USWNT defender Tierna Davidson for this match. The Red Stars have been one of the best teams in the league against the Courage, so they will try to keep that momentum going into this final match.
Courage seeking a second title
The North Carolina Courage have been the best team in the National Women’s Soccer League for the last three seasons. In 2017 they were beaten in the Championship game by Portland Thorns FC, but they added Crystal Dunn ahead of the 2018 season and beat Portland the next year. Now the Courage will be relying on Dunn and Samantha Mewis to control the midfield as they search for back-to-back league championship victories
Kick-off time
The North Carolina Courage vs Chicago Red Stars Championship match will be played at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. The kick-off is scheduled for 3:30 pm ET.
Welcome to VAVEL.com’s coverage of the 2019 NWSL Championship Game: North Carolina Courage vs Chicago Red Stars!
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