It's playoff season in American soccer, and Sunday will feature the title game for the women's top flight in the United States, the NWSL.
The matchup sees the North Carolina Courage, winners of the last three NWSL Shields as the top regular-season team, host the Chicago Red Stars, perennial NWSL playoffs qualifiers who have broken through the historical wall to reach the NWSL final for the first time.
By coincidence, North Carolina's Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., will host the championship match, decided in advance but fitting considering the Courage's dominance. Since moving to North Carolina for the 2017 season, the Courage have not only won three straight Shields, they also won the NWSL final last year and have been finalists for three straight years, too.
Led by Paul Riley and featuring 2019 World Cup winners Crystal Dunn, Abby Dahlkemper and Jess McDonald, the Courage will aim to solidify their claim to being an NWSL dynasty.
But Chicago offer an upstart's charge coming in. Playing their home games at SeatGeek Stadium, which they shared this season with the Chicago Fire, the Red Stars are coached by Rory Dames. He's been in charge since the club launched their NWSL tenure when the league launched in 2013.
Led by 2019 NWSL Golden Boot winner and NWSL MVP frontrunner Sam Kerr, the Red Stars also have a slew of 2019 World Cup winners: Alyssa Naeher, Julie Ertz, Morgan Bryan and rookie Tierna Davidson.
All in all, it should be a fascinating match, the experienced side and the club looking to get that elusive first NWSL title. You can watch the game, scheduled for 3:30 pm ET on Sunday, on ESPN in the United States. In Canada, you can watch on TSN2 and TSN Go.
