## **North Carolina Courage vs. Portland Thorns FC** ### NWSL Championship *Where:* **Orlando City Stadium in Orlando, Florida** *When:* **Saturday, October 14 at 4:30 p.m. ET** *Tickets:* [**Buy now**](https://www1.ticketmaster.com/2017-nwsl-championship-orlando-florida-10-14-2017/event/2200530BA1D09831#efeat4212) *Where to Watch:* **Lifetime** Also available on: [mylifetime.com](http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/national-womens-soccer-league), and the Lifetime iOS and Android apps in the United States; International viewers: NWSLSoccer.com and the NWSL iOS and Android apps. * * * Going to the Game? ***Important** —* Orlando City Stadium has a ***clear bag policy***. **[Get more information](https://www.orlandocitysc.com/stadium/clearbag)** Find out more about the stadium and the experience around the game by visiting [NWSLChampionship.com](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/championship). * * * Media Day Highlights *By Katelyn Best* North Carolina Courage midfielder [**McCall Zerboni**](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/players/view/domf5amhxgz82ormceatnowd1): “I definitely feel it’s probably one of the best competitions you’re going to see in the world. These are two great squads with a lot of talent, and a lot of dynamics to them, and a lot of strengths. Both sides don’t have many weaknesses. To kind of find those weaknesses and attack them is going to be difficult. I imagine it’s going to be a low-scoring game. It’s not easy to score goals in games like this.” [Read more Courage Media Day highlights](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/#highlights-from-the-courage-at-media-day) Portland Thorns FC midfielder [**Tobin Heath**](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/players/view/cxl4bxs35ifb8o5cq9jxi1ec5): “The defense has been huge. I think it’s very collective, I think everyone’s on the same page. It’s almost like if one person gets beat, there’s another person, and another person, and another person. It’s a really great mentality to have. We always talk about defense winning championships. Our defense has done an amazing job, and it’s shown in our performances. It’s just a really hard group to break down.” [Read more Thorns Media Day highlights](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/#highlights-from-the-thorns-at-media-day) * * * Watch [Youtube oembed has failed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHsrU4I_CCA] [Youtube oembed has failed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XqopZZCPaw] * * * By the Numbers: #### North Carolina Courage *16-7-1, 49 points (1st place)* [**Lynn Williams**](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/players/view/cm6fzm8v38ti0aubu0q4v717t) (9 goals, 5 assists), [**Ashley Hatch**](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/players/view/b9d4fqz6ezz2azklpghb9kyjt) (7 goals, 1 assist) [**Katelyn Rowland**](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/players/view/8j1i9gr0v369rfhhjsycnq5ed) (8 shutouts) 38 goals for, 22 goals against #### Portland Thorns FC *14-5-5, 27 points (2nd place)* [**Christine Sinclair**](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/players/view/cfx9wllh2x6ozkvqxusa3sl3p) (8 goals), [**Nadia Nadim**](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/players/view/a9ds5lw4ekhfjzmlpax91mdw5) (6 goals, 3 assists), [**Hayley Raso**](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/players/view/1to70vfsch5kwvw3kjgo1iggl) (6 goals, 3 assists) [**Adrianna Franch**](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/players/view/4baep35yxj0df8fqwcvh7x8lx) (11 shutouts) 37 goals for, 20 goals against * * * Latest News * How They Got Here: North Carolina Courage: [Read More](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news#how-they-got-here-north-carolina-courage) * How They Got Here: Portland Thorns FC: [Read More](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news#how-they-got-here-portland-thorns-fc) * Outside the Box Scores: North Carolina Courage: [Read More](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news#outside-the-box-scores-talking-about-playoffs-courage-edition) * With a quiet and constant presence, Sinclair once again leads Thorns to playoffs: [Read More](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news#christine-sinclair-playoffs-thorns-fc) * * * The Last Times They Met The North Carolina Courage and Portland Thorns FC faced off twice in the 2017 NWSL regular season, with each team winning at home by the score of 1-0. They’re set to meet for the third and final time this season with everything at stake in the 2017 NWSL Championship. They’ll meet on a neutral field, Orlando City Stadium in Orlando, Florida on Saturday (**4:30 p.m. ET, Lifetime**). Both the Courage and Thorns ended up at the top of the table in not just points (*Courage — 49, Thorns 47*), but also home wins (*Thorns — 10, Courage — 9*) and goals allowed (*Thorns — 20, Courage — 22*) It’s not surprising that both of their meetings this season were close games that went in favor of the home side each time. [Read More](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news#courage-thorns-played-close-games-in-2017) * * * Injury Report #### **North Carolina Courage** **OUT:** Liz Eddy (left hamstring strain), Darian Jenkins (D45 – left ankle dislocation/fracture), Yuri Kawamura (SEI – right knee ACL and meniscus tear) **DOUBTFUL:** None **QUESTIONABLE:** Debinha (left elbow dislocation) **PROBABLE:** None #### Portland Thorns FC **OUT:** Meg Morris (D45 – left hip inflammation) **DOUBTFUL:** None **QUESTIONABLE:** None **PROBABLE:** None

Match Highlights

Match Highlights